


Nemo Est Soleus: No One Is Alone

by EmeraldAlitrex



Series: Nemo Est Soleus [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Major Original Character(s), Season/Series 01-02, Series Rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-02-05 06:12:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 67,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1808287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldAlitrex/pseuds/EmeraldAlitrex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Right before meeting Rose, the Doctor meets Rebecca Goodman, a seventeen year old Genius from New York. What happens when everything about Rebecca's past is not as it seems? Can she prove to the doctor that no one is alone? Begins just before Series One.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mantodea

Rebecca Goodman sat at her desk, taking copious notes upon the French Revolution, despite the fact that she already knew everything she needed to know about it for her class plus some. It was as if she already knew everything she was learning in school. The knowledge was already in her mind somewhere. It glowed dimly, much like a dying ember, but nevertheless it glowed. She took the notes to distract herself from her past and to fit in amongst her peers, at least attempt to make it look as if she worked for her near perfect grades. In fact, they would be perfect if Rebecca didn't purposely get a question or two incorrect.  
She didn't belong. Not at her school. Not at home. Not anywhere at all. Not until she met the man who could show her the stars and uncover the truth about her past. He showed her so many impossible things, but it was real and she felt as if she belonged for once.

“Ms. Goodman?” Her teacher questioned reading off a memo.

“Yes sir?” she asked.

“You must pack up your things and report to guidance. It’s been a pleasure teaching you Rebecca.”

“What do you mean by that sir?” she asked, gathering her things from the desk.

“Congratulations Ms. Goodman. You’ll see!” He said, almost ominously. Rebecca shook her head and exited her room and walked the halls towards the guidance office, wondering what could possibly be going on.

“Rebecca, good, you've arrived. Doctor Snyder is here to speak with you.” Principal Jenkins said proudly, gesturing to the elderly gentleman next to her. Her archaeology teacher, Professor Song stood there smiling widely at her.

“I’m sorry but who are you sir?” she queried, slightly confused by the presence of the strange man.

“No, forgive me for not introducing myself. I am Doctor Alonso Snyder, head of the archaeology department at the University of Oxford.” Rebecca’s jaw dropped. This couldn’t be happening. It must be a dream. She had applied for the internship months ago, writing the paper for the application out of pure boredom because she had been assured extra credit in her archaeology class that she didn't need.

“Congratulations Ms. Goodman you've been selected to join my team at our current dig in the Mojave dessert. Your paper on the demise of the Anasazi people was simply inspired. It was superb and we’d be thrilled to have you on our dig.”

Rebecca’s normally stoic expression quickly changed into one of sheer joy.

“Really sir? Oh my goodness! I don't know what to say! I cannot begin to thank you and the University for this incredible opportunity sir!” Dr. Snyder just laughed.

“You’re most welcome my dear. But really we must be going right now. You’re things are already at the camp. You’re mother sent them ahead of you.” Rebecca’s smile dropped.

“Of course she did.” Rebecca replied sadly. Her mother had been looking for a way to get rid of her since childhood, for a reason Rebecca never knew.

“Principal Jenkins has agreed to grant you your diploma early so you can focus solely on your work at the camp site. I hear you have quite the knack for languages. Anyway here my dear,” he passed her a large envelope.

“Sir?”

“This is an acceptance letter to the University of Oxford. You have been admitted with a full scholarship for when you finish your internship at the site. It’s yours for the taking Ms. Goodman.”

“I …”she gazed over to Professor Song who nodded, relieving some of her hesitation. “I accept Dr. Snyder. Thank you so much. I cannot begin to express my gratitude.” She said the smile returning to her face. “When do we leave?”

“We shall take our leave in a few minutes. Just say your goodbyes to your friends and such. I’ll be here waiting out front you.” Rebecca’s eyes met Professor Song’s and the two of them walked down the hallway together.

“How many strings did you pull to get me this opportunity?” Rebecca asked.

“None. I don’t understand why you don’t think that you deserve this. Dr. Snyder called me to see if I had any students or knew anyone in the field capable of processing or working for them and I immediately thought of you. Rebecca, despite your horribly low self-esteem, you are the brightest, most brilliant mind I have ever had the privilege of teaching.”

“What if I mess up?” Rebecca asked nervously.

“You won’t. You’ve always been… I’m trying to find a way to put this nicely Rebecca. But you’re a goody two shoes. You’ve always been strict with your adherence to the rules. It’s time to go out on your own and bend them and live your life without worry about what anyone else thinks. So please go out and take this chance and then take another. You are going to be brilliant, sweetie.” Professor Song hugged her tight. “Now go out and take the universe head on.” She hugged her one more time before sending her out to Dr. Snyder.

They got into the cab and Rebecca waved goodbye to Professor River song, and everything she’d ever known.

Rebecca stared out the window of the jet, her eyes watching the clouds on her flight from New York to California. She was a long way from her home but she couldn’t have cared less. She was away from her mother’s hateful remarks and would never return to live in such a toxic place again.  
A new life waited for her out there in the Mojave Desert. A life of adventure and learning and it was just a few hours away. A small smile graced her lips. This was freedom. The plane landed at the airport and as soon as they had gotten their luggage, Rebecca and Dr. Snyder were ushered into a Jeep. The driver an Irish man named Jonathan Fichera who remained silent throughout the two hour drive to the dig site unless Dr. Snyder directed a question at him.

“Here’s your room.” Jonathan said dropping her in front of a trailer that said “KUBLER/GOODMAN” on it. He left her outside alone. Here she was in the middle of the Mojave Dessert. Alone. But that was okay. Alone was nice for her.

“Let’s do this.” She muttered. Pushing open the trailer door, she banged into a suitcase.

“Sorry ‘bout that dearie.” A pale woman with ginger hair and what seemed like hundreds of freckles said as she moved it out of the way.

“Hey newbie, Welcome. Brigit Kubler.” She said offering her a handshake.

“Rebecca Goodman.” She shook the offered hand.

“I know. The rest of your things are in the back. I sleep in the right bunk. Are you hungry? I can take you to the mess if you want.”

“I’m okay right now. Thank you though.” Rebecca replied quietly as she moved her remaining stuff toward the back of the trailer.

“Alrighty then. You got orientation with the other newbie at ten tomorrow and I ain’t getting your arse out up and out of bed. So set your alarm.”

“Okay.” Rebecca began unpacking the suitcases of clothing her mother had sent ahead of her. She made a quick trip to the loo, changing into some pajamas and then crawled into her bunk to drift off to dreamland for a few hours. Rebecca never needed much sleep. If she got more than four hours a night then she was sleeping for an awfully long time but that night she did sleep. She slept for seven hours which was a miracle for her.

She awoke at 5:30 am and decided to dress as the sun would soon be rising over the Mojave Desert and Rebecca did not want to miss it. She scrambled out of bed and left her trailer to enter the already warm desert in search of the mess to get her morning coffee and watch the sunrise.

When she arrived at the mess hall, she discovered that she wasn’t the only one. A darker man was already there, cup in hand, pouring himself some coffee. Rebecca poured herself a cup and put in her two sugars and skim milk and sat on the terrace of the mess hall watching the sunrise. The swirling of the pinks and oranges across the sky was absolutely breathtaking.

“You’re new, aren’t you?” the man asked.

“Yes, I arrived here last night. I’m an intern for Dr. Snyder.” Rebecca replied quietly.

“Ah! Good ole Al. Here’s a tip for you though. Al Snyder is never wrong. Even when he is wrong, never point that out that he is wrong.”

“Gotcha’ I’ll keep that in mind. I’m Rebecca.”

“Akeem. What university are you from?”

“None, well Oxford I suppose. I graduated High School yesterday afternoon and when we are done with the dig I have a full scholarship to Oxford waiting for me.”

“Impressive. But you don’t have an accent. You aren’t from England are you?”

Rebecca shook her head. “No. I’m from New York, right outside of the city on Long Island. What about you?”

“Detroit. I work for the University of Michigan.”

“Nice.” Rebecca said as she watched the streaks of blue and purple fill up the sky.

“Come on then. I’ll give you the tour.” Akeem said as he helped Rebecca up. He showed her around the small camp.

“Here’s the interesting part though… the crash site.”

“The crash site? I was under the assumption that we were studying some prehistorical Mesoamerican societies here. Not plane crashes.”

“Not even a plane. It’s a capsule of sorts.” Akeem said gesturing to the hole in the ground. Rebecca walked closer and looked in the ground.

“An escape pod of sorts is my bet. The writing… it’s not any language of human origin for sure.” She said inspecting it.

“What is that panel? It looks almost like… a cryogenic tank of sorts.” She said.

“Good insight. We’re gonna try and remove it this morning and get it into the lab to get a closer look.”

“Rebecca! Glad to see you’re making your way around.” Dr. Snyder said joining the pair.

“Morning sir. Akeem was kind enough to show me around.”

“Ah good man! Rebecca this is your fellow intern, John Smith.” He said introducing a tall man with large ears and great blue eyes, wearing a leather jacket.

“Rebecca Goodman.” She said, although she was suspicious. What kind of name was John Smith? It was so overly generic that it had to have been an alias.

“Pleasure!” he said, his northern accent clearly present.

“John, come along for a tour, we’ll be working here later this afternoon.” Dr. Snyder gestured for him to follow. “You too Rebecca.”

“Coming sir.” She said giving a pleading look to Akeem who just cheekily smiled back at her heading off to his job. Dr. Snyder continued giving a tour to both Rebecca and John before he was called away for a conference call.

“You two enjoy brunch. I’ll meet you two here in a bit.” He said before rushing off toward his own trailer.

The two sat at a table with their food before Rebecca blurted out her question.

“Your name isn’t really John Smith is it?” The man chuckled.

“It’s a name I go by. Call me the Doctor.”

“And from where are you accredited?”

“I’m an alumni of Cambridge University. See.” He said holding up a blank piece of paper.

“That’s blank.”

“No it clearly says Dr. John Smith...” he said.

“Sorry ‘Doctor’ it’s blank. I can see pretty well. Also how in God’s name are you wearing a leather jacket in this heat? I would be dying.”

“Eh, it’s a little toasty. Not too too bad. Just being in the open air and working in the sun is Fantastic!”

“Alrighty then Doctor.”

“So why are you here?” the Doctor asked.

“I applied a few months ago on a whim because honestly I was bored, had time and my professor offered me extra credit that I didn’t need. I wrote a paper on the disappearance of the Anasazi well rather their demise and submitted it. Dr. Snyder came to my school yesterday and here I am now.”

“So you know nothing about Aliens then?”

“No, nothing at all. I didn’t even know that there was anything Alien about this place till this morning right before I met you actually.” He gave her a grin when suddenly there was a scream and the two of them ran off toward the noise.  
A giant Praying Mantis about eight feet tall had suddenly appeared after someone had hit the capsule.

“My God!” Dr. Snyder cried.

“The tank! She must have been cryogenically frozen in there!” Rebecca said. She looked up at the looming figure.

“WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN?” the creature shouted.

“IT TALKS!” Brigit said.

“You don’t say?” the Doctor said. “Your descendants have multiplied and spread far across this planet.”

“LIES!” Suddenly the creature grabbed Dr. Snyder and began to pull his head off.

“Mantis…. Praying Mantises. Come on Rebecca you know about them!” Rebecca said to herself. “Mantodea… supposedly evolved from proto-cockroaches of the cretaceous period… eat anything that small enough for them to capture but large enough to gain their attention!”

“You’re good!” The Doctor said. “I have one small suggestion though.”

“Yeah, and what’s that?”

“RUN!” The doctor yelled and began running away from the creature. Rebecca and many of the other camp laborers followed them but a few got into the Mantodea’s path.”

“We should be safe here for now.” The Doctor said as he stood beside the mess.

“Highly unlikely. This mantodea is not going to be afraid of a small puddle of water or a hose.” Rebecca said.

“What the hell is that?” Brigit asked.

“Rebecca’s right that is the Empress of the Mantodea or as you humans like to call them… praying mantises.”

“You have got to be bloody joking.” She said.

“No, trust me I’m the Doctor.” He said with a laugh. Rebecca rolled her eyes.

“What are her motives on Earth? If she’s the empress, then why come herself, wouldn’t it be easier to send someone else?” Rebecca questioned. “Then again it seems that Mantodea’s run on matriarchal tendencies and-“

“Mantodea are warriors. She’s a warrior empress but once again very, very good. Fantastic!”

“Thank you now what do we do?” Rebecca asked.

“DROWN IT!” Akeem yelled. “I do not that thing anywhere near me.”

“Not a bad idea. How do you suppose we do that?” the Doctor asked.

“All the hoses, we take them and shoot her with water and then-“

“Not gonna work. It’ll just anger her and she’ll possibly bite your head off next Akeem because you’re male and Mantodea’s are known for pulling off the heads of males.” She failed to mention that it was usually only during mating rituals but it was just a tad fun watching Akeem squirm.

“Once again she’s right; you’re really good at this.”

“Once again, thank you doctor but you can complement me all you want later when we freaking figure out how to stop this.”

“Do we have a swimming pool on camp by any chance?” The Doctor asked.

“Yes, of course we do.” Brigit said sarcastically, “right along with the five star hotel, spa and tiki bar on the beach!”

“Not helping Brigit!” Rebecca said. “How about a reservoir or sewage? Anything!”

“Well no not really. We’re a hundred miles from civilization.” Akeem answered.

“Can we just repair her ship and send her home?” Rebecca asked.

“Her home is gone. It was destroyed.” The Doctor said sadly, Rebecca saw the pain and what seemed like remorse in his eyes.

“Does she know that yet? That she can’t go back?”

“Dunno,” he said running a hand through his hair. “Might be wise to tell her though”

“THAT’S IF WE DON’T GET KILLED FIRST!” Akeem shouted.

“You’re not helping Akeem. If you aren’t going to say anything productive then SHUT UP!” Rebecca said. She turned around and saw the Mantodea fast approaching.

“Quick! Anyone have rope?” Rebecca asked. Someone tossed her a rope. “Doctor, hold the other side. We are gonna trip her and tie her up and then explain the situation before we make any brash decisions now. Got it?” she said sternly and the leather clad man smiled.

“On three then?”

“One.” Rebecca started.

“TWO THREE!” The Doctor said pulling the rope tight tripping the Empress of the Mantodea. He then rapidly tied her up.

“WHERE ARE MY DESCENDANTS?”

“As I said before, they have spread throughout the world. Your people are safe.”

“And my home?” the empress asked quietly.

“I’m so sorry. It was destroyed toward the end of the Time War.” The doctor said, with a slight quiver in his voice.

“It’s over then?” she asked. “Who won then?”

“No one. The Daleks are gone as well as the rest of the Time-Lords. Just me left.” That was what Rebecca saw in his eyes, the loneliness, and the scars from his past, something that haunted him.

“YOU DESTROYED MY PLANET! YOU MUST DIE!”

“THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO!” He yelled. Suddenly the empress burst free from her binds and was after the Doctor.

“I CAN FIND YOU A NEW PLANET! I’LL GET YOU A NEW HOME!” He yelled as he began to run, the Empress was hot on his heels.

“I WANT MY EMPIRE!”

“I CAN HELP YOU! PLEASE!” he said when suddenly there was a shot and the Empress collapsed.

“You killed her!” the Doctor yelled looking up to see Brigit staring him down with a gun in her hand.

“She killed Al!”

“That makes you about as good as she is then doesn’t it?” Rebecca said. “She was grieving the loss of her home and children!”

“It was an animal!” Brigit argued.

“And so are you.” Rebecca said shaking her head. She couldn’t look at Brigit so she turned her attention to the Doctor.  
“Are you alright Doctor?”

“I’ll be fine. Always am.” He said.

“That is quite possibly the biggest lie I’ve ever heard.”

“Yeah well it’s what you’re getting from me right now. How do you know all that stuff about Mantodeas?” The Doctor asked, curious as to why this human girl seemed to know so much about mantodea and what to do. She seemed as if she was out of place in this world.

“I read. A lot. I guess I’m an insomniac; I don’t sleep much so I use that time to read anything I can get my hands on. It’s what brought me here. Fat lot of good that was.”

“You were meant to be here. The Mantodea would have killed everyone before we had the chance to tie her up.” Rebecca shrugged.

“What happens now? I can’t go back to school or even go back home.”

“Why can’t you go home?”

“My mother couldn’t wait to get me out of the house. She didn’t even bother to say goodbye to me before I left for an indefinite extended period of time and my dad honestly doesn’t care. I’ve been gone a day she’d throw me out the minute she saw me.”

“You could travel with me.” The Doctor said slowly. This girl was smart. She had a level head and could think on her feet. She would make a good companion.

“How do you travel?” she asked, curious as to how he could afford to travel a lot.

“Come I’ll show you.” He said leading her over to a rather small Blue box.

“You travel in a 1960’s police box from the UK?” she asked.

“This is a TARDIS! She can travel anywhere in the world and in time.”

“Time travel?”she asked skeptically.

“Yep!” he said popping the ‘p’. He opened the door for her and she was amazed at how it was bigger on the inside but kept it internalized.

“She’s beautiful.” Rebecca said quietly as she looked around the console room. The Tardis hummed softly in reply.

“She likes you.” The Doctor said with a smile. The Tardis didn’t always like everyone he brought aboard but had immediately liked the new human girl.

“Before I make my decision Doctor, I have a question.” Rebecca said.

“Anything.”

“Is it always like this with you? Fighting aliens and such?”

“Sort of hoping it wouldn’t be. But yeah… pretty much.” She thought back to everything that Professor Song had told her just the day before. Go out and take the universe head on. And she was about to.

“I’m in.” she said with a smile.

“FANTASTIC!” He said with a great big dopey grin on his face.

“Let me just grab my things from my trailer.” She said quickly running off to her trailer to grab her jewelry box and her clothing. She returned to the Tardis with her bags and set them down when the Doctor gave her an apologetic smile.

“Normally I would let you pick where you go for your first trip but I just got a message on the Psychic paper I showed you before the blank one, that I’m needed in London. How ‘bout it then?”

  
“Let’s go!” she said with a smile and just like that the Doctor and Rebecca were off to have their adventures through space and time.


	2. Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rewrite of Rose with Rebecca inserted. No major plot changes but we learn a little bit more about Rebecca's past.

Rebecca was relieved when the jolt of the TARDIS' flight had finally stopped. She had clung onto a railing for dear life when the Doctor began to pilot the ship.

"So how exactly do we travel like that? How is any of this possible?"

"Lots of hard difficult science way above the comprehension of an ape." The Doctor said.

"Try me." She said with a glare. If he was gonna challenge her, she was more than willing to step up to the plate. "What are you again? Time something?"

"Time Lord."

"Bit full of yourself there?" she asked teasingly

"No, I'm a time lord from Gallifrey. I travel through space and time."

"Well how does that work?"

"Just accept it. There's no point in taking the magic and mystery out of time and space travel." Rebecca pouted because she was genuinely curious as to how it worked.

"So where and when are we if this ship travels in both Time and Space?"

"London, England March 2005."

"Local time?"

"Around 9 pm." He said as he fiddled with another control on the TARDIS' console.

"You might wanna change your clothes here. It's a lot cooler here than in the Mojave desert."

"How warm is it?"

"It's about eight degrees which is fo…"

Rebecca cut him off. "Forty six degrees Fahrenheit. I can do the conversion in my head."

"Yeah, been meaning to ask about that. Have you always been that brilliant?"

"As in a freak of nature when it came to schooling and I actually had to hold back? Yes always." Rebecca said sadly.

"Being brilliant is not bad."

"When you have no friends except your professors, yes it kind of is. As if being a teenager wasn't hard enough as it is, this whole genius bit had to come into play and make it harder."

"Wait, teenager? How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"That's it as soon as we are done here you are going back home. I don't do this with kids. Not into the whole domestic thing." The doctor said as he fiddled with something on the console of the Tardis.

"I'm not a child in a majority of the world. Legally I'm an adult there. I can drink in most countries on this planet, my prefrontal cortex is pretty much fully developed and I can keep a level head." She said calmly.

"Still legally a child."

"Make this my test run. If I turn out to be okay, I can stay. If I turn out to be some sort of loser and a complete and utter idiot then take me forward in time to August so I may begin my semester at Oxford."

"Deal." The Doctor said as he looked at her. She gave him a weak smile as she grabbed some clothes to change into before they headed out into London.

"Rebecca, don't forget that we might have to run. Wear sensible shoes!"

"A step ahead of you." She said coming out changed from her shorts and tank top into a pair of jeans, a soft jumper, and a pair of running shoes.

"Good." He nodded affirmatively but all he could think was that there was something off about this human girl.

"Shall we Rebecca?" he said offering her an arm.

"Yes we shall Doctor." She said with a smile, linking her arm in his. She exited the TARDIS and was completely amazed by what she saw of London. It was so much like New York but... it was new and to her it was magical. It was a whole new life to discover.

"No time to dawdle. This way." He said pulling her towards Henrik's, a large department store down the street.

"Doctor, its late here, the store will be closing soon."

"This will open any door I need it to." He pulled out some sort of metal object.

"And that is?" she asked curious as to what this amazing tool/super key really was.

"This is a sonic screwdriver."

"Fancy." she said with a smile. "But I don't think we'll need it." She said pulling the door to the employee entrance open and slipping in with a smile on her face. The Doctor looked slightly stunned. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"Come on. Which way then?" Rebecca asked. The Doctor took hold of the Sonic Screw Driver and it began to buzz lightly, he began to make a circle and when the buzzing increased he followed it. He suddenly hit a wall and dropped the sonic screwdriver as it began to hum even louder.

"Downstairs it is then?" she questioned as she opened the door to the stairs. The Doctor replied with a curt nod and then held the door open for her. The two headed downstairs when they heard a girls voice.

"Wilson? Wilson I've got the lottery money. Wilson are you there?" The pair then heard a clattering as if something had hit the floor and a door slammed. The two began to rush toward the sound.

"You're kidding me," the girl's voice said. The Doctor peeked out from behind the wall and saw that there was a male plastic mannequin walking toward the girl.

"Autons." He said. "They're automatons that are animated by the Nestene consciousness."

"Okay. But how are they dangerous?"

"They can conceal dangerous weapons in their hands. They must be getting their signal from a transmitter on the roof."

"So can we stop the transmitter Doctor?"

"It'd be easier to blow it up."

"Do you happen to have a bomb on you?" Rebecca asked sarcastically. "I happen to have left mine on the TARDIS."

"Actually," he said reaching into his pocket, "I do." Rebecca stood jaw wide open, wondering why this man had a bomb in his pocket.

"Yeah you got me. Very funny." The blonde girl said beginning to panic when another one joined in. "Right, I've got the joke. Who's idea was this? Is it Derek's? Is it? Derek, is this you?" They had her backed up against a wall when the doctor grabbed her wrist.

"Run!" he said and Rebecca lead them into the lift when the head mannequin got his arm stuck as the door closed. The Doctor tugged on it a few times before it came out into the lift with them and the door closed.

The pretty blonde girl stared at the Doctor for a moment before just simply stating the obvious. "You pulled his arm off."

"Yep he did. Plastic by the looks of it." Rebecca said grabbing the arm from the Doctor's hands, trying to analyze it.

"Very clever. Nice trick! Who were they then, students? Is this a student thing or what?" the blonde girl asked. Rebecca shook her head slightly confused.

"Why would they be students?" she pondered and then she realized while she might be well beyond her years and age in maturity, her counter parts were not.

"I don't know."

"We'll you said it. So why students." The Doctor asked her.

"Cos to get that many people dressed up and being silly, they got to be students." Rebecca nodded in agreement with that statement but she was positive that those mannequins were not students. She doubted they were even human.

"That makes sense. Well done." The Doctor said looking over the girl.

"Thanks." She responded with a smile.

"They're not students." The Doctor said.

"Well, whoever they are, when Wilson finds them, he's gonna call the police."

"Um, sorry who's Wilson?" Rebecca asked.

"Chief Electrician."

"Wilson's dead." The Doctor said leading them out of the lift to exit at the back of the building.

"Doctor, that was rude. He didn't mean to be so crude about it." Rebecca said to the girl.

"You're not funny! That's sick!" she said to the Doctor who was fiddling with the lift using his Sonic screwdriver.

"Hold on, mind your eyes." He told the girl.

"I've had enough of this now." The girls said as the Doctor stopped the lift. "Who are you then? Who's that lot down there? I said, who are they?"

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures called Autons." Rebecca said. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"They're being controlled by a relay device in the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this." He said holding up the bomb he had procured from his pocket.

"So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you go home. Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast. Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed."

"Isn't he just a ray of sunshine? I'm Rebecca." The doctor began pulling them out of the door. "Bye!" Suddenly he went back.

"I'm the Doctor by the way. Whats your name?"

"Rose." She said.

"Nice to meet you Rose. Run for your life!" he said as he and Rebecca headed toward the roof, dropping the auton's arm. Rose picked it up and started to make her way out of the building.

"So, do you have a remote detonator for the bomb?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, no sorry about that."

"Then how do you plan to survive the detonation?"

"Hadn't gotten that far yet."

"Wait!" she said she ran towards the edge of the roof and looked at the building next to it.

"You think you can make the jump?" she asked.

"I'd be fine. Will you?" He asked. She gave him a look.

"Just watch me." She said as she gave herself a running start and landed a few feet in from the edge of the next building. The Doctor quickly joined her on the next building and threw the bomb ready to detonate at the roof.

"Run for cover!" he yelled as he began running toward the roof access door. Both he and Rebecca got down just in time as the Bomb detonated, leaving the sky a light with fire and ash beginning to fly.

"So is that it then?" Rebecca asked.

"Is what it then?"

"Are we done with the Autons?" he shook his head.

"No, we have a bigger problem. This can't possibly be the only transmitter in the city. We'll have to find and destroy the others." Rebecca inwardly let out a sigh of relief, grateful that it wasn't the end of her journey. She and the Doctor headed back to the TARDIS for a quick cup of tea to calm themselves down.

"So, you said it was controlled by the Nestene consciousness, wouldn't it make sense to just stop it at the source?"

"First we'd have to find it and secondly it's made of liquid plastic. Do you know how to destroy liquid plastic?"

"First of all we don't destroy first and then ask questions. We bargain first. Secondly yes, I do know how to destroy liquid plastic. It's called anti-plastic. If you can get me a sample of that auton material I should be able to find its molecular make-up and reverse it." The Doctor stared at her.

"Okay you're really good. We'll do that tomorrow morning."

"Why can't we do it now?"

"Because apes like you need to sleep."

"I slept seven hours yesterday. I should be good for another day. I don't sleep much." She said with a shrug.

"Alrighty then. Let's go on an auton hunt."

The Doctor and Rebecca walked all night searching for the Autons, only stopping for a quick cup of tea and some breakfast before continuing the hunt. There journey lead them to Peckham.

“The signal is getting stronger then?” Rebecca asked as she followed the Doctor who had climbed up to the second story of an apartment complex. He was on the floor in front of a door with his head trying to look through a cat door when suddenly the door opened.

“What’re you doing here?” the Doctor asked when he looked up only to find Rose standing at the door.

“I live here.” She replied.

“Well what do you do that for?” Rebecca smacked the Doctor's arm.

“Doctor you can’t just ask people why they live where they live.”

“I live here because I do. I’m only home because somebody went and blew up my job.”

“Yeah… I’m really sorry about that but you know we couldn’t really allow autons to take over the planet.” Rebecca said.

“I must have got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?” he knocked on her skull.”

“Hey! That hurt!”

“No, bonehead. Bye, then.” The Doctor turned on his heel but was stopped when Rose pulled him back by his jacket.

“You two. Inside. Right now.” Rebecca happily followed Rose while the doctor remained in the hallway.

“Who is it?” a woman’s voice called out.

“Mum.” Rose said quietly.

“Hello ma’am we’re just here to speak to Rose about last night. We won’t be long.” She said following Rose into the kitchen. The Doctor stayed behind and was taking a look around when presumably Rose’s mother who had been fixing her make up looked at him.

“She deserves compensation!” she said.

“Oh yes, we’re talking millions!” he said even though he knew it wasn’t true in the slightest.

“I’m in my dressing gown,” she said flirtatiously.

“Yes, you are.” He said oblivious to her advances.

“There’s a strange man in my bedroom.”

“Yes there is.”

“Well anything could happen.”  
It finally struck the Doctor what this woman was propositioning so he quickly said “No” and walked away to find Rose and Rebecca.

“Don’t mind the mess, sorry. Do you two want coffee? I just made a pot.”

“Might as well, thanks. Just milk in mine.” The Doctor said.

“I’ll take a cup. Milk and sugar. Thank you Rose. Let me help you.” Rebecca said, helping Rose get some mugs from the cabinet.

“We should go to the police. The three of us.”

“Not gonna work out too well if we do that Rose.”

“Look I'm not blaming you, even if it was just some sort of joke that went wrong.”

“Rose, we were there to stop it. We aren’t the ones who caused it.”

“They said on the news they found a body.”

“It was Wilson that electrician guy? I’m really sorry for your loss Rose."

Rose simply shrugged. “All the same, he was nice. Nice bloke.”

“I’m sure he was.”

“Well anyway if we are going to the police, I want to know what I’m saying.”

Meanwhile the Doctor sat at the kitchen table and started to look at a magazine shaking his head.

“That won’t last. He’s gay, she’s an alien.” He then picked up a novel and flicked through it in a few seconds.

“The ending to that one is sad.” Rebecca warned him.

“Agreed.” He then spotted himself in a mirror and began to give himself a once over as if he were looking at himself for the first time. “Eh could’ve been worse but look at me’ ears.”

“Doctor are you paying attention to anything that Rose is saying?” He proceeded to pick up a deck of cards and try shuffling.

“Luck be a lady!” suddenly his attempt at shuffling failed epically and resulted in what seemed more like a game of fifty-two pick up. “Maybe not.” Then all three of them heard a shuffling noise.

“Rose by any chance do you have a cat?” Rebecca asked. The blonde shook her head as the doctor went behind the couch to investigate.

“We did have, but there's these strays, they come in off the estate...Do you have any cats?”

“Nope. Hey Doctor do you have any cats?” The Doctor didn’t respond as he was busy wrestling with the arm from the mannequin.

“I told Mickey to chuck that out. Honestly give a man a plastic hand…” she said rolling her eyes and putting down her coffee. “Anyway I don’t even know your name, Doctor… what was it?”

“He just goes by the Doctor.” Rebecca shrugged but then noticed the Doctor struggling. “Doctor, are you alright?”

The Doctor threw the hand off of him and it immediately began attacking Rose and she screamed. He was trying to pull it off of her when Rebecca noticed his Sonic screwdriver on the floor and thought she might as well give it a try on the arm. It began to buzz and then suddenly the arm stopped moving around.

“You two okay? I disabled it. It should be okay now.”

“See Rose, it’s ‘armless!” The doctor said laughing at his own joke.

“Do you think?” she asked taking it from him before whacking him with it. Rebecca laughed.

“Ow blimey woman can you hit.” At which Rebecca and Rose just continued to laugh. The Doctor picked up the arm and grabbed Rebecca.

“We got you your sample! Time to go!” but Rose was hot on their heels.

“Hold on a minute! You can’t just go swanning off!” she yelled as she followed them down the stairs of the flat complex.

“Yes I can! Here I am, this is me swanning off. See ya!”

“But that arm was moving, it tried to kill me!”

“Ten out of ten for observation!”

“Doctor you’re being rude!”

“You can't just walk away, that's not fair! You've got to tell me what's going on!”

“No we don’t!” the Doctor asserted as he and Rebecca reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Alright then. I'll go to the police. I'll tell everyone. You said, if I did that, I'd get people killed. So, your choice. Tell me, or I'll start talking.”

“Rose, is that supposed to sound like an ultimatum of sorts? Trying to sound tough?” Rebecca asked.

“Sort of.”

“Doesn’t work.” The Doctor said.

“Who are you?” Rose asked exasperated by all of the chaos going on around her.

“Rebecca Goodman! Pleasure to meet you again!”

“I told you I’m the Doctor.”

“Yeah but Doctor who?”

“Just the Doctor.”

“The Doctor.” She said flatly unimpressed by whatever game he seemed to be playing.

“Hello!” he said cheekily.

“Is that supposed to sound impressive?” Rebecca asked.

“Sort of.”

“Come on. You can tell me. I've seen enough. Are you two the police?”

“Nope.” Rebecca said popping the p.

“No, I was just passing through. I’m a long way from home.”

“But what have I done wrong? How comes those plastic things keep coming after me?” Rose asked.

“Oh! Suddenly the entire world revolves around you! You were just an accident; you got in the way, that's all.”

“What he means to say is ,” Rebecca corrected “is that is an excellent question.” She elbowed the Doctor. “Try to hone in on the sass and take it down a few notches.”

“It tried to kill me!”

“It was after me, not you! Last night, in the shop, I was there, you blundered it. Almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down... the only reason it fixed on you is that you met me.”

“Why hasn’t it fixed on me then?” Rebecca asked.

“Good question actually don’t know.”

“So, what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you.” Rose asked.

“Sort of, yeah.” Rebecca rolled her eyes.

“Not pompous at all are we?” she said.

“You’re full of it!” Rose said.

“Sort of, yeah” Rebecca hit him on the shoulder.

“Aye, whats that for?”

“For being an arse. This isn’t helping us find the Nestene consciousness is it?”

“But, all this plastic stuff - who else knows about it?” Rose asked.

“No one.” Rebecca said.

“What you two are on your own?” Rose asked.

“Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly! When all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on” The doctor said. He then continued.

“Normally just me actually. Asked this one to travel with me before I knew she was underage.”

“Just because I’m physically seventeen does not mean that I’m not mature enough to handle situations and keep a clear head as well as bring up vast pieces of data. I’m dead useful.”

“Yeah whatever.” The Doctor said.

“Okay wait what? Start from the beginning.”

“Can I go work on the anti-plastic while you two have story time?” Rebecca asked.

“Yeah sure! Here!” he said tossing her a key to the TARDIS. “You blow up the TARDIS and I kill you!”

“Yeah yeah sure thing Doc.” She said with a mock salute before traveling off toward the TARDIS. The Doctor then continued to tell Rose the story as they slowly walked together.

“If you're gonna go with this living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do... how did you kill it?” Rose asked him.

“The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. Rebecca and I cut off the signal, dead.”

“So is that like radio control.” Close, he thought.

“It’s thought control.” He left her to ponder that for a moment. “You alright?”

“Yeah so who’s controlling it then. Rebecca was saying something about nesting consciousness.”

“Nestene. It’s a long story.”

“But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies... what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?” The thought of someone going this far for a shopping war seemed outlandish to both of them and they began to laugh.

“No.”

“I know.

“It’s not a price war.” They laughed again but this time it was tenser. The situation, more serious.

“They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?” The Doctor asked her but Rose Marion Tyler was not buying it for one second.

“No.”

“But you’re still listening.” He continued walking while Rose stopped dead in her tracks.

“Really though, Doctor. Tell me - who are you?” she asked him and he suddenly stopped.

“Do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving?” he walked back to her.

“It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it.” He took her hand as if he could pass his feelings through his hands into her.

“The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go...” he let go of her hand.

“That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home.” He said walking away into the TARDIS leaving a slightly dazed Rose walking to Mickey Smith’s place.

“Rebecca, how’s my antiplastic coming?”

"It’s coming along quite well actually. Should be done by tomorrow.”

“Where’d you get all the stuff to make it?”

“The lab cabinets.” Rebecca said with a smile. “You never would have thought of making anti-plastic would you?”

“Nope. Probably not.”

“You think Rose is gonna listen to you and forget about us?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t she?” Because she’s human. Naturally curious.

“Because she’s right those things keep targeting her for contact with you. They’re gonna keep going back after her looking for you.”

“Fantastic!” he said sarcastically.

“Indeed. Does the TARDIS have a kitchen? I can make us some supper while the solution settles.”

“Sounds good let me show you the way.”

After a dinner of Chicken Parmigiana the Doctor and Rebecca sat in the lab of the TARDIS waiting for the Anti-plastic to finish.

“So where’d you learn to do all this?”

“I took online molecular biology and chemistry college courses because I got bored," Rebecca replied with a small shrug, pipetting some chemicals into a test tube as she made a restorative solution.

“Don’t all you kids today just play video games?” Rebecca shook her head.

“Not a kid. I told you. I’ve always been different. I can read pretty fast, don’t sleep much and retain information pretty well. I’ve had to dumb myself down to fit in.”

“Never dumb yourself down. Especially for a man.” Rebecca nodded.

“It was just for school. They would’ve noticed that I could’ve probably graduated at age ten if I hadn’t started to dumb myself down. Granted some of my teachers saw past the dumbing down,” she thought about Professor River Song for a moment and how she had seen past the faking her grades and demanded nothing less than her best. 

“And your parents?” The Doctor asked.

“I don’t want to talk about them.” Rebecca said bitterly. 

“Won’t they miss you?” he asked. He had no family left and he didn’t want to take someone else away from their family.

“No.” she said bitterly. “I’m gonna head to bed for a few hours. The Anti-plastic is done. You can put in a glass vial. Not plastic. That would be pointless. Goodnight Doctor.”

“Goodnight Rebecca.” He said sadly. She walked into her light blue room and sat on the clean, crisp white bed and sat with a book. She wasn’t tired. She didn’t need to sleep but she wanted to avoid the questions and her memories of her parents.

**_Meanwhile_ **

Rose made her way over to her boyfriend Mickey’s house in a sort of daze and knocked on his door.

**  
**“Yahey, there's my woman! _”_ he said welcoming her into his small apartment. “Kit off!” he said suggestively.

“Shut up.” She said giving him a kiss, pushing her way into the apartment.

“Coffee?” he offered.

“Yeah, only if you wash the mug. And I don't mean rinse, I mean wash. Can I use your computer?” she asked. She needed to find more out about the “Doctor” and having a snog with Mickey sure wouldn’t be productive.

“Yeah. Any excuse to get in the bedroom.” She rolled her eyes and went to the computer, shutting the door behind her.

“Oi! Don’t read my e-mails.” He called out and she once more rolled her eyes before hopping online and beginning her search for the Doctor. At first she just searched “Doctor.” That proved to be fruitless producing thousands of unrelated results.

“Hmm… let’s try Doctor Living Plastic” once again fruitless. She then remembered seeing this blue box around whenever the Doctor was around.

That was the winning search. "Doctor Who - do you know this man? Contact Clive here..." She clicked on it and a webpage with a blurry photograph of the Doctor and the words "Have you seen this man? “Contact Clive" was presented to her. She clicked the link to "Contact Clive", making and appointment with him for the following morning and commandeering Mickey to drive her there. He wasn’t so keen on it.

“Mickey, You are NOT coming in! He’s safe, he’s got a wife and kids.” She argued.

“Yeah but who told you that? He did. That's exactly what an Internet lunatic murderer  _would_  say.”

“You’ve been watching far too much telly.” She said grinning getting out of the car, leaving an unhappy Mickey in the car. She walked up to front door and knocked when a young boy maybe eleven years old answered the door.

“Um, Hello I’ve come to see Clive. We’ve been emailing.”

“DAD ITS ONE OF YOUR NUTTERS!” Rose couldn’t help the small smile that rose to her lips when the boy called out for his father. A large man came out a moment later.

“Sorry,bout that. You must be Rose. Obviously I’m Clive.”

“I better tell you now - my boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to kill me!” The two of them laughed at that. It was such an odd thing to say really.

“No, good point. No murders.” He waved at Mickey in his car who was still glaring. Rose blew him a quick kiss and followed Clive in. His wife called out to them.

“Who is it? “

“Oh it's something to do with the Doctor! She's been reading the website. Please come through, I'm in the shed.”

“She? She read a website about the Doctor? She's a she?” The woman smiled and shut the front door.  Mickey stayed in the car and continued to glare at the door, unhappy that he was being left behind.

Rose followed Clive into the shed and saw that Clive had a whole entire shrine dedicated to the doctor. Pictures lined the walls, papers scattered the tables, it was a mess of any type of source that Clive had found on the doctor.

“A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive, I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept it, if you know what I mean. If you dig deep enough - keep a lively mind - this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place. Political diaries, conspiracy theories. Even ghost stories. No first name, no last name. Just 'The Doctor'. Always The Doctor. And the title seems to have been passed down from father to son, it appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor there, isn't it?” he said as he pointed to a picture of the Doctor on the computer.

“Yeah, but he always has this girl with him.”

“He must’ve picked up a companion. The Doctor’s tend to do that. I picked up this pi. I tracked it down to the Washington public archive last year. The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original... Its from November the 22nd, 1963 the day President Kennedy was assassinated.

“It must be his father. He’s too young for that.”

“Going further back... April 1912.  This is a photo of the Daniels family, Southampton. And friend.” He said pointing out the Doctor in a picture he found in an album. Rose’s jaw dropped in shock. _  
_

“This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World. On the Titanic. And for some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip and survived. And…” as he pulled out a sketch he pointed out the date.

“1883. Another Doctor. And look - the same lineage. He's identical. This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He has a storm in his wake. And he has one constant companion.”

“Who's that?" Rose asked

“Death.” Rose let out an audible gulp.

“If he's singled you out... if the Doctor's making house calls... then God help you.”

“Clive, who is he? Who do you think he is?”

“I think he's the same man. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world.”  Rose just shook her head. This man must be off his rocker and so she thanked him for her time and returned to the car.

Meanwhile, on the TARDIS, Rebecca had set up a tracking device to measure the movement of the Nestene Conscience. 

“Doctor! I’m getting a signal. They’re transmitting and they’re on the move!” she said, gesturing to a map on the console.

“Fantastic! They appear to have stopped at a…. Pizzeria?”

“Autons get hungry too I guess… Well lets get on it. If we can get a better sample we might be able to find the source.” The TARDIS rematerialized outside of an Italian restaurant and the pair got out. The two walked in and Rebecca saw the issue immediately.

“I’m telling you they’re after her.” Rebecca said pointing out that Rose was sitting at a table with a slightly _shiny_ African man.

“Yeah and now her boyfriend’s plastic.” The doctor said.

“Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had a few jobs going in the canteen. That's it then... dishing out chips... I could do A Levels...I dunno. It's all Jimmy Stone's fault. I only left school because of him, and look where he ended up. What do you think?” Rose blabbered to the boyfriend.

“Is she really that oblivious? How can she not notice the difference?” Rebecca asked him.

“Humans don’t see things they don’t want to see. That’s all throughout history. Come on we can stop this and get your sample.”

“So, where did you meet this Doctor?” Mickey asked Rose.

“I'm sorry, wasn't I talking about me for a second?” Rose asked.

“Because, I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Is he something to do with that?”

“No...” **  
**

“Come on.”

“Sort of..” she admitted.

“What was he doing there?”

“I'm not going on about him, Mickey, I'm not, because, I know it sounds daft but... I don't think he's safe. I think he's dangerous.” She said exasperated.

 "I’m not dangerous.” The Doctor muttered as he grabbed a bottle of champagne off of the counter.

“But you can trust me sweetheart! Babe, sugar, darling, sugar.” He repeated quickly Rose looked at him confused. Why was Mickey acting so strange? **  
**“You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really wanna do, sweetheart, babe, sugar, sweetheart.”

“What're you doing that for?” Rose asked he never called her sweetheart or sugar and he certainly never chained pet names together.

“Your champagne.” The Doctor said posing as a waiter.

“We didn't order any champagne”. Mickey said as he grabbed Rose’s hand. “Where's the Doctor?” The doctor simply moved to Roses side of the table trying to catch her attention by once again offering them champagne.

“Ma'am. Your champagne.”

“It's not ours... Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?” she said still oblivious to the Doctor’s attempt. **  
**

“I need to find out how much you know, so where is he?”

“Doesn't anybody want this champagne?” The Doctor said exasperated as Rebecca giggled from the counter watching his failures.

“Look, we didn't order i—“ Mickey said finally exasperated when he realized it was the Doctor. _  
_

“Ah. Gotcha.”

The Doctor shook the bottle madly.“Don't mind me. I'm just toasting the happy couple. On the house!” He said popping the cork out of the bottle, hitting the plastic Mickey squarely in the forehead. Instead of bouncing off of his forehead, the cork was absorbed. That was when Rose finally realized that Mickey had been replaced by an Auton.

“Finally she gets it!” Rebecca said from her seat.

**“** Anyway.” Plastic Mickey said, as his hands turned into clubs and he began to smash the table in and Rose screamed. The Doctor pulled off Plastic Mickey’s head.

“Don't think that's gonna stop me.” Plastic Mickey’s head said, still talking despite being removed from the body. The Auton kept swinging its club-hands around wildly. Rebecca took initiative and pulled the Fire Alarm.

“Everyone out! Out now!” Rebecca yelled over the screaming diners.

“Come on you two!” she yelled at the Doctor and Rose pulling them out through the kitchen into the Alley way while the body of the Auton was still causing destruction inside of the restaurant. The doctor locked the door with his sonic screwdriver.

“Hello Rose! Long time no see!” Rebecca said as she started walking toward the TARDIS. Rose had run to the gate banging on it.

“Use your tube thingy! Open that gate!”

“What this?” The Doctor asked gesturing to his screwdriver. “This is a sonic screwdriver.”

“THEN USE IT!” Rose yelled.

“Nah, where’s the fun in that?” Rebecca asked laughing slightly.

“Tell ya’ what lets go in here.” He said unlocking the TARDIS. Rebecca walked in with a big smile on her face,  _this'll be fun._

“We can't hide inside a wooden box!It's gonna get us! Doctor!”

“Rose come on!” Rebecca called and Rose ran into the Tardis, slamming the door behind her. She took a few steps into the Tardis and was so confused and ran out back into the alley looking at the box, completely floored by how it was so different on the inside, and then noticed the Auton had finally begun making a whole in the door the doctor had locked. She ran back into the box.

“It's gonna follow us!” she said.

“The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried. Now, shut up a minute.” The Doctor said. Rebecca was wiring up the head of the Auton.

“You see, the arm is too simple, but the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source. Right.”

“You look overwhelmed. Doctor explain. Where do you want him to start?” Rebecca said.

“Um... the inside's bigger than the outside?” she asked confused.

“Yes.”

“It’s Alien.”

“Yup.”

“Are you Alien?”

“Yes… Is that alright?”

“Yeah.” She said quickly.

“I’m not Alien so don’t worry Rose!” Rebecca said.

“It's called the TARDIS, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S, that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space.” Rose had started crying.

  
“That's okay. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us.”

“Doctor, I don’t think that’s why she’s crying.”

**  
**“Did they kill him? Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?”

**  
**“Oh... didn't think of that.”

“Of course you didn’t!” Rebecca said. “And now you’re being rude again.”

“He's my boyfriend. You pulled off his head - they copied him and you didn't even think? And now you're just going to let him melt?!”

“Melt? Oh, no no no no no NO!” Rebecca cried. “DOCTOR GET THAT SIGNAL!!” He started running around the Tardis console pushing buttons and pulling levers.

“What're you doing?!” Rose asked. **  
**

“Reviving the signal, it's fading! Wait I've got it!” Rebecca said.  
 _  
_“No No No No No No NO!” she cried as she looked at the screen.  
 __  
“Almost there! Almost there! Here we go!” The Doctor said as the TARDIS started shaking like crazy throwing its occupants around. As soon as the engines stopped, the Doctor and Rebecca were out of the TARDIS.

“You can't go out there, it's not safe!”

“WATCH ME!” Rebecca said challengingly.

“I lost the signal, I got  _so_  close.” The Doctor said as he looked around.

“We've moved! Does it fly?” Rose asked incredulously.

“Disappears there, reappears here, you wouldn't understand.”

“Or you don’t want to explain. He didn’t tell me either Rose… The nerve of this man.” Rebecca said jokingly.

“But if we're somewhere else, what about that headless thing? It's still on the loose.” Rose asked.

“It melted with the head, are you going to witter on all night?”

“Oi! It was a valid question!” Rebecca argued. ****  
  


“I'll have to tell his mother...” The Doctor looked at her questioningly.

“You can’t have seriously forgotten already.” Rebecca asked him. He continued to look confused.

**“** Mickey! I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you just went and forgot him, again!” The Doctor rolled his eyes again, unconcerned.

“Rude!” Rebecca told him.

**“** You were right, you ARE alien.” She said as she turned walking away. Rebecca hit the doctor.

“GO AFTER HER!” she hissed at him. **  
**

“Look, if I did forget some kid called Rickey”

“Mickey and Yeah, he's not a kid.”

“It's because I'm trying to save the life of every  _stupid_  ape blundering on top of this planet, alright??”

“Alright!”

“Yes! It is!”

Rose shook her head “If you are an alien, then how comes you sound like you're from the North and Rebecca sounds like she’s from America?” **  
**

“Lots of planets have a North.”

“And I told you I’m human and I’m from New York.” Rose nodded and proceeded to ask her next question as Rebecca looked around.

“What's a police public call box?”

**“** It's a telephone box from the 1950s.” he said, patting the TARDIS lovingly. _“_ It's a disguise.”

“Okay. And this living plastic, what's it got against us?”

“Nothing,” Rebecca said.

“It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air... perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. It's food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth... dinner!” The Doctor continued.

“Any way of stopping it?”Rose asked as the Doctor pulled out of a vial of blue liquid.

“Thanks to Rebecca yes. This is Anti-plastic!”

“You dyed it blue!” Rebecca yelled. "That was clear when I left it in the lab last night." 

“It looked cooler that way and it didn’t mess with the molecular structure!”

“Anti-plastic...” Rose said.

“Anti-plastic! But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?” Rebecca said.

“Hold on... hide what?”

“The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal.” The Doctor said.

“What's it look like?” Rose asked.

“Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London.” He said as he began to pace around.A huge circular metal structure... like a dish...” As he said this Rose turned around to see the London Eye directly behind him.“...like a wheel. Close to where we're standing. Must be COMPLETELY invisible.”

“What?” Rebecca asked as Rose nodded towards the Eye. The Doctor turned around, then back to her, completely nonplussed.

“Oh I like you a lot Rose Tyler. You’re good!” Rebecca said.

“What?” The doctor asked again. Rebecca shook her head and then positioned the Doctor so he was staring directly at the London eye.

“Oh… Fantastic!”

After finding the quickest route toward the London Eye, Rebecca began running across London Bridge. “You two come on!” she called out. The Doctor offered Rose his hand and with a smile she accepted it and together they followed Rebecca who had halted at the foot of the eye.

“Think of it. Plastic, all over the world. Every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables...” The Doctor trailed off.

“The breast implants...” Rose added and Rebecca burst out laughing. The Doctor cracked a smile and Rose let out a giggle but it was time to get down to business. **  
**

“Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath.” Rebecca said as she began looking around. Rose had already wandered off and ad found an entrance to what looked like a manhole.

“What about here?” she asked. Rebecca and the Doctor quickly ran over to the entrance.

“Looks good to me.” Rebecca said running down the stairs with the Doctor and Rose hot on her heels. She tried to remove the lid and had almost succeeded in it when the Doctor just grabbed it from her and tossed it aside. Red light and smoke poured out of the entrance and caused Rebecca to start coughing for a moment.

“Oi! I could’ve handled that.” Rebecca claimed, still choking on the smoke.

 “That weighed about as much as you do! Let me handle the heavy lifting.” Rebecca gave him a glare finally catching her breath. He smiled cheekily and climbed down the ladder into the chamber. Rose quickly followed and Rebecca hopped down after her.

Following the Doctor through another door, the three entered a chamber and saw a huge, wobbly orange mass in the middle. 

“Is that the Nestene Consciousness?” Rebecca asked.

“That’s it, inside the vat. A living, plastic creature.”

“Well, then. Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go.” Rose said eager to get away from the large creepy, orange mass.

“Not how we do things around here.” Rebecca said.

“I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance.” The Doctor said, descending a few more steps and leaning over the railings to address the consciousness.

“I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract. According to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation.” He said confidently and Rebecca listened and thought she actually heard the consciousness respond as it flopped around.

“Thank you. I ask that I might have permission to approach.” Rose had been pacing around when she spotted Mickey.

“Oh, my God! Mickey! It's okay! It's alright!” she said squatting down beside him. He was tied up and Rebecca ran over with her pocket knife to cut him free.

“That thing down there, the liquid, Rose - it can talk!”

“Hello I’m Rebecca and you’re welcome for me setting you free.” She said with a roll of her eyes.

“You're stinking! Doctor, they kept him alive!” Rose didn’t pay Rebecca any mind.

“Yeah, that was always a possibility. Keep him alive to maintain the copy.”

“You knew that and you never said?” Rose asked angrily.

“Didn’t want to get your hopes up probably. He'll be alright thankfully." Rebecca said.

**“** Can we keep the domestics outside? Thanks.” He said as he approached the Consciousness.

“Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped, shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?” Rebecca gasped.

“Doctor, ever hear of diplomacy? Not exactly being polite here.” Rebecca told him. The Plastic garbled a very negative response from what Rebecca understood of it.

“Oh don't give me that, it's an invasion! Plain and simple! Don't talk about constitutional rights!” The Plastic reared its head while the doctor just continued yelling.

“I - am - talking! This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf - please, just go.” Suddenly Rebecca was being held back by an Auton who was twisting her wrist. She yelled out in pain.

“DOCTOR!” she yelled as she noticed two autons going after him from behind. One of them grabbed the Anti-Plastic from his pocket. One thought went through Rebecca’s head. _We’re so screwed._

“That was just insurance! I wasn't going to USE it. I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not... what do you mean?” the Doctor asked as the Plastic interrupted him. The doors above him opened to reveal the TARDIS. _Totally screwed. River said take risks and go on an adventure... Note to self: Don't take advice from a trigger-happy archaeologist on how to live your life._

“Oh, oh no - honestly, no! Yes, that's my ship.” The Doctor said. The plastic roared in response.

“That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war - it wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!” **  
**

“What's it doing?!” Rose asked still trying to calm down Mickey.

“It's the TARDIS! The Nestene has identified its superior technology - it's terrified! It's going to the final base. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Just leg it! Now!” Rose pulled out her phone and began to dial a number.

“ROSE ITS NOT TIME TO SOCIALIZE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS UPON THIS! NOW GET THE HELL OUT AND RUN!” Rebecca yelled at her.

“Mum?!” she asked.

“Oh, there you are, I was just gonna phone. You can get compensation. I said so. I've got this document thing off the police - don't thank me!” Jackie responded. **  
**“Where are you, mum?”

“I'm in town!” **  
**

“Go home! Just go home, right now!”

“Darling, you're breaking up, look, I'm just going to do a bit of late night shopping. I'll see you later. Tara!” The line went dead.

“Mum?! Mum!” but it was too late. The consciousness had begun emitting a signal to the rest of the world.

“It's the activation signal! It's transmitting!” Rebecca yelled, struggling against the Auton that held her back, crying out because of a pain in her wrist.

“The end of the world...” Rose said in horror.

“Get out, Rose! Just get out! Run!” The Doctor yelled. “Take your stupid boyfriend and run!” The ceiling began to collapse at that moment, right over the stairs. _Yep, totally screwed._ Rebecca thought.

“The stairs have gone!” Rose cried out.

“TRY THE TARDIS!” Rebecca yelled.

“I haven't got the key!” Rose replied with a very frightened Mickey on her side.

“We’re gonna die.” He said. _Not if I can help it._ Rebecca began fighting even harder against the Auton and The Doctor was trying to get to the Anti-plastic. He had  really hoped it wouldn’t come to this but it had to be done. That was the instant when Rose knew that she had to do something. She got up and climbed to a platform, grabbing an axe.

“Rose, Just leave them!” Mickey yelled. “There's nothing you can do!”

“I've got no A Levels. No job... No future…” she said as she began using the axe to hack at a chain on the wall. “But I tell you what I have got. Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastic team.” The Chain came loose and Rose grabbed onto it.  

“And I got the Bronze!” she said with a smile and she then swung over the gap the consciousness was in, in the process kicking the head off of the Auton grabbing Rebecca allowing her to get free. Rose then kicked the Autons holding the Doctor hostage into the consciousness, holding the Anti-plastic, causing their own destruction. The Doctor then caught Rose safely in his arms and smiled at her. However a rumbling from the ground ruined everything.

“Now we're in trouble.” The consciousness had started to explode. Rose, Rebecca, the Doctor and Mickey began to run toward the Tardis. The four of them quickly made it in and Rose grinned at the dying Consciousness before going into the TARDIS and shutting the door. The whole entire chamber had gone up in flames just as the Tardis dematerialized.

The group rematerialized in an alleyway where they saw the now dead Autons littering the streets of London. Mickey however ran out of the TARDIS and fell over. Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh from the doorway as Rose rung her mother.

“Rose! Rose! Don't go out of the house, it's not safe!” Jackie said and Rose let out a laugh of relief, knowing that she was okay.

“There were all of these things! And they were shooting! And they—“ Rose hung up on her mother satisfied knowing that she was okay and went over to check on Mickey.

“A fat lot of good you were!” Rose said to him, causing him to whimper. The Doctor stood beside Rebecca in the doorway of the TARDIS

“Nestene Consciousness?” he said with a snap of his fingers. “Easy.” Rebecca let out a laugh.  
 **  
**“You two were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me.” Rose said teasingly.

“Yes, we would. Thank you. Right then! I'll be off! Unless, uh... I don't know... you could come with me.” The doctor said. Rebecca looked slightly crestfallen. He hadn’t said ‘us.” He was taking her back home.

“By me, I mean us Rebecca.” He corrected.

“Really?” she asked him and he nodded at her. That was when she hugged the Doctor, hurting her wrist in the process. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!”

“Oww… Oww.. Oww!” she said.

“Oi what’d you do to it?”

“I think one of the Autons broke it.” She said with a shrug. “But Rose we’d love to have you with us!” Rose stared at the two with her hands in the pocket.

“This box isn't just a London hopper, you know, it goes anywhere in the universe free of charge.” The Doctor said trying to sell the idea of her traveling with them. He quite enjoyed blonde’s company and ingenuity.

“Don't! He's an alien! He's a thing!” Mickey yelled.

“He's NOT invited. What do you think? You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go, uh... anywhere.”

“Is it always this dangerous?”

“Kind of. Sort of. Maybe… Yeah. It pretty much is.” Rebecca said and the doctor nodded in agreement. Mickey hugged Rose’s legs much like a little kid and Rebecca rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I can't... I've um... gotta go and find my mum and um... someone's gotta look after this stupid lump... So..”

**“** Okay. See you around.” The Doctor said as he and Rebecca went back into the TARDIS.

“Yeah, you should ask her again…”Rebecca said.

“I never ask twice.” He said fiddling with some buttons on the console.

“Yeah but you’re attracted to her.” The Doctor choked a little.

“What?”

“Don’t deny it! Even a blind man can see that you find Rose Tyler very attractive. It doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty resourceful and saved both of our lives.” The Doctor shot her a glare and Rebecca continued.

“You forgot a key selling point to this beautiful machine.”

“And that would be?”

“The fact that she can travel in time!” Rebecca said. “Ask the girl again, Go back!” she said. The Doctor sighed and agreed heading back out the door.

“By the way did we mention that it also travels in time?” The Doctor asked. This time he just left the door a jar and returned to the console. Rose turned to Mickey and then back to the door.

“Thanks.” She said.

“For what?” he asked.

“Exactly.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran into the Tardis.

“Welcome aboard!” Rebecca said.

“Rebecca get her set up in a bedroom and then head to the medical bay and we’ll see about fixing your wrist.

“This way Rose.” Rebecca said leading her down a hallway to a room with a Rose on the door.

“I have a feeling this one is yours.” Rose laughed and went inside to see the room. It was pink just like the one she back at Powell estates.

“How did he know?” Rose asked.

“How did who know what?” Rebecca asked confused.

“This is exactly the way my room is at home.”

“Oh The Doctor didn’t do this. The TARDIS did. She’s a sentient ship. She must like you.” The TARDIS hummed lightly in response.

“What on Earth?” Rose asked herself before going into her room and plopping on the bed. It was quite possibly the most comfortable thing she had ever sat on. She laid down and she yelled. “THIS IS SO COOL!” Rebecca laughed from the doorway.

“You have an attached bathroom too. So if you need anything I’ll be in the medical bay, which is… I actually don’t know… You’ll figure it out.”  The TARDIS had displayed the Route to the med bay in Rebecca’s mind and so Rebecca trusted the TARDIS and followed her instructions.

“Thanks beautiful!” she told the ship as she arrived at the medical bay to find the doctor there already.

“Rose settled in?”

“Yep, the TARDIS likes her so her room is really nice.”

“That’s what the Tardis does when she likes people. She helps them find places, leaves them things they like and gives them nice bedrooms. Let’s get that wrist fixed up shall we?” He said as he held a scanner over it.

The image showed up on a light board on the wall.

“It looks like you have a bu-…”

“Buckle fracture or Taurus fracture of the Right Radius, more distally. Good thing I’m done growing for the most part because that is damn close to my growth plate.” The Doctor stared at her in shock for a moment.

“I took anatomy and physiology as a class in school. My teacher was big on clinical.” She shrugged.

“It looks like you have some already healed fractures in the same spot.” He said giving her a questioning look, was that why she didn’t like talking about her parents?

“Stop right there. My parents were not physically abusive towards me, I was a very clumsy child and broke it twice.” He let out a sigh of relief.

“Good. I can heal it but you’ll need to be careful with it for the next week.”

“You got it doc’.” She said with a smile. He took out a fifty-second century bone setter and held it over her arm until the bone had healed.

“Thanks” she said. “And thank you for letting me stay.” She said earnestly.

“You’re welcome. Go get a bit of rest once you guys have breakfast, we’re heading out on an adventure.”

“Where?”

“Dunno yet. I was supposed to let you pick but..”

“Rose can pick. I’d pick something boring like go to the Library of Alexandria.”

“Ooh one day I’ll have to take you to THE library.”

“Which Library?”

“It’s just the library. It holds every book ever written.” Rebecca’s eyes grew wide.

“When you and Rose need some private time, just drop me off there!”

“There’s nothing going on with me and Rose.” He said gruffly.

“Not yet.” She answered in a sing-song voice dancing out of the room. “Good night doctor!”

“Night Rebecca.” He said shaking his head. What had he gotten himself into, having too young human girls on the ship?


	3. The End of the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairly basic re-write of End of the World with just a little bit of foreshadowing.

After a lovely night of sleep aboard the Tardis, in her new room, Rose awoke to the smell of bacon frying. She quickly dressed in her clothes and followed the scent to the kitchen where she found Rebecca cooking up enough food for a small army.

  
“Morning Rose!” she said. “There’s plenty of food unless this one eats it all which wouldn’t be surprising.” She said nodding her head toward the doctor.

“I’m a hungry man! What can I say?” he argued as he sat at the table tinkering with his sonic screwdriver.

“How do you like your eggs Rose?” Rebecca asked.

“Scrambled and I can do that.” Rose said. Rebecca just shook her head.

“Nope! Just relax. This is the only time today that you probably will.” Rebecca told her.

“I’m planning on a safe journey today!” The Doctor argued.

“Since when is anything ever safe with you?” Rebecca asked cheekily placing more bacon on his plate and starting to cook Rose’s eggs. She and the Doctor sat and chatted idly and one the three of them were done and sorted they headed to the console room.

“Right then, Rose Tyler - you tell me, where do you want to go? Backwards or forwards in time. What's it going to be?”

“Forwards.” She said decidedly. He began to fiddle with a few buttons on the console.

“How far?”

“One Hundred years?” she said guessing randomly. A few levers and a knob turn later the engines stopped.

“There you go, step outside those doors, it's the twenty-second century.”

“You’re kidding!”

“A hundred years! That’s too close!” Rebecca argued.

“She’s right, that’s a bit boring, do wanna go further?”

“Fine by me!” Rose said. The doctor fiddled a bit more and then the engines stopped again.

“Ten thousand years in the future. Step outside, it's the year 12005, the New Roman Empire.”

“You think you're so impressive.” Rose said teasing him.

“I AM so impressive!” The doctor said. Rebecca scoffed at him.

“You wish!” she said.

“Right then, you asked for it. I know exactly where to go. HOLD ON!” He yelled as he  
Hold on!” The tardis started shaking as they traveled through the time vortex before it ended with a Ping.

“Where are we?” Rose asked. The Doctor simply gestured to the doors.

“What's out there?” Rebecca asked. Once more the Doctor silently gestured until the two girls stepped out of the Tardis with a pair of smiles on. They found themselves in a room and with a wave of his sonic screwdriver, a set of shutters opened revealing an enormous window. Rebecca quickly ran down them and found herself staring at the Earth.

“Oh my Gosh!” Rebecca said staring in awe at the Earth in front of her. She was struck by the beauty of her home planet.

“You lot. You spend all your time thinking about dying. Like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. Maybe you survive. This is the year 5.5/apple/26. Five billion years in your future. This is the day... hold on...” The doctor glanced down at his watch, “Yep, this is the day the sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world.”

“You know when I thought that a hundred years in the future would be boring and we teased you about the New Roman Empire. I didn’t think you’d take us to the actual end of the world.” Rebecca asked.

“Shuttles 5 and 6 now docking. Guests are reminded that platform 1 forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth Death is scheduled for 15:39, followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite.” A computer voice said over the intercom.

“So, when it says 'guests' does that mean people?” Rose asked.

“Depends what you mean by people.”

“I mean people. What do you mean?”

“Aliens.”

“What are they doing on board this spaceship? What's it all for?”

“It's not really a spaceship. More like an observation deck. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn.”

“What for?”

“Fun. Mind you, when I said the great and the good, what I mean is, the rich.” The Doctor.

“You heard them, let’s go to the Manchester suite.” The Doctor said.

“WAIT!” Rebecca said.

“What is it now?” The doctor grumbled.

“If I’m gonna watch the end of the world with lots of other people I want to do it in style! How do they dress in this time period?” Rose laughed at her.

“Don’t really have time for this Rebecca. What you’re wearing is fine.” The doctor grumbled.

“If I’m gonna meet some multi-millionaire alien today that I might marry one day I’d prefer to look nice. Now give me just two minutes and I’ll be right out.” She said rushing back into the Tardis.

“Back to what we were saying, But, hold on, they did this once on 'Newsround Extra' - the sun expanding - that takes hundreds of years.” Rose said.

“Millions. But the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there?” the Doctor said pointing out of the window at these tiny glints of light that were orbiting the Earth. “Those are Gravity Satellites holding back the sun.”

“The planet looks the same as ever. I thought the continents shifted and things.” Rebecca said popping back out of the Tardis in a completely different outfit.

“Cute!” Rose said. Rebecca smiled at her while the Doctor gave her a look.

“They did. And the trust shifted them back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over!”

“How long has it got?” Rose asked.

“About half an hour. And the planet gets roasted.”

“Is that why we're here? I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?”

“I'm not saving it. Time's up.”

“Times up?! This isn’t a game of football!” Rebecca asked outraged that he could talk so casually about a planets death.

“But what about the people?” Rose asked.

“It's empty! They're all gone. All left.” A look of realization hit both Rebecca and Rose.

“Just us then.” Rose said sadly. Suddenly a Steward, a very blue steward, hurried toward them.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Oh! That's nice, thanks.” The Doctor said.

“But how did you get in? This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked! They're on their way any second now!”

“That's me, I'm a guest, look! I've got an invitation!” he said flashing his psychic paper at the steward. “Look, there you see? It's fine, see? The Doctor plus two. I'm the Doctor, this is Rose Tyler and Rebecca Goodman. They’re my plus two. That all right?”

“Well... obviously. Apologies, et cetera. If you're on-board, we'd better start. Enjoy.” The Doctor nodded at the Steward and showed Rose the paper.

“The paper's slightly psychic. Shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time.” The doctor told her.

“He's blue.” Rose said blankly.

“Yep! Ten on ten for observation!” Rebecca said teasing her.

“Okay...” Rose said still slightly weirded out by The blue man. The steward had run to his position to a microphone to begin announcing guests.

“We have in attendance, the Doctor, Rebecca Goodman and Rose Tyler. Thank you! All staff to their positions. Hurry now! Thank you, as quick as we can! Come along, come along! And now, might I introduce the next honoured guest, representing the forest of Cheem, we have Trees. Namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa.”

“They’re trees?” Rose whispered to Rebecca.

“Yep!” Rebecca responded. “Maybe you’re related. Seeing as you’re Rose…” Rose just glared at the girl. The Doctor let out a small chuckle and shook his head.

“There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you can keep the room circulating, thank-you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, the Moxx of Balhoon. And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme.”  
Rose’s face got more and more bewildered with each new set of aliens entering the room.

“How are you so calm?” she asked Rebecca.

“My first encounter with the doctor involved a giant praying mantis about eight feet tall who was trying to kill us. This is a lot more pleasant!”

“The inventors of hyposlip travel systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you!” The steward continued.  
“Cal 'Spark Plug”'.  
“Mr. and Mrs. Pakoo.”  
“The Ambassadors from the City State of Binding Light.”

The tree people then approached them, the woman Jabe stepped forward taking a cutting from one her companions and offering it to the Doctor.

“The Gift of Peace. I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather.”

“Thank you!” he said handing it to Rose. “Yes, gifts... erm...” he began rapidly searching through his pockets but found nothing.

“Air from your lungs.” Rebecca whispered into his ear.

“I give you in return, air from my lungs.” He then said blowing gently on Jabe’s face.

“How... intimate.” Jabe said.

“There's more where that came from.” The Doctor said flirtatiously.

“I bet there is...” Jabe said before she and her companions moved on to circulate the rest of the room. Rose’s face was still bewildered. She had just witnessed her friend flirt with a tree.

“Sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Bo.” Rebecca watched a huge head in a jar be wheeled into the room through the doors. She saw a park of recognition in its eyes and she instantly felt a connection to the creature. She would have to go speak with him.

“The Moxx of Balhoon.” The Doctor said as the creature approached.

“My felicitations on this historical happenstance. I give you the gift of bodily saliva.” He said spitting into Rose’s left eye. Rose was not amused.

“Thank you very much!” The Doctor said with a laugh.

“We give you air from our Lungs.” Rebecca said breathing onto the Moxx’s face.

“Ah! The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. I bring you air from my lungs.” The Doctor said breathing heavily all over them. Rose continued to rub the saliva from her eyes.  
“A gift of peace in all good faith.” The Adherent said ,holding out a large silver egg, which the Doctor took, threw up into the air, caught, and handed it to Rebecca.

“And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and Gentlemen, and Trees and Multiforms.  
The Lady Cassandra O’Brien Dot Delta Seventeen.” Rebecca looked on in horror and Rose did as well upon what looked like a stretched canvas or a vertical trampoline with eyes and a set of lips.  
“Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference! Look how thin I am.” The Doctor laughed silently but heartily and looked at Rose, who looks shocked.

“Thin and dainty! I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturize me, moisturize me.”she told the men wearing white who had brought her in. “Truly, I am the last human.” Rose moved closer to the woman and Rebecca followed her, afraid she would do something drastic.

“My father was a Texan. My mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in the soil.” Rose finished her circle around Cassandra realizing that she was completely flat.

“I have come to honour them and...say goodbye. Oh, no tears.” Her body guard came and wiped her fake tears away.

“No tears. I'm sorry. But behold! I bring gifts. From Earth itself - the last remaining ostrich egg. Legend says it had a wingspan of 50 feet and blew fire from its nostrils.” Rose and Rebecca looked at each other confused. Had civilization lost information?

“Or was that my third husband?” Cassandra continue, Rose and Rebecca rolled their eyes while the doctor laughed.

“Who knows! Oh don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines! And here, another rarity. According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on!” Tainted love came on and the Doctor began to bop his head appreciatively.

“If that’s one of humanities greatest composers, I don’t want to live on that planet anymore. What happened to Mozart or Beethoven?” Rebecca asked him.

“Refreshments will now be served. Earth Death in 30 minutes.” Rose was overwhelmed, everywhere she looked there were aliens and Rebecca was the only other human there and she seemed so at ease, she might as well have been an Alien. She ran out of the gallery. Rebecca was about to go after her when the Doctor stopped her.

“I’ve got this. Mingle.” He rushed off after Rose when Jabe stopped him.

“Doctor?” she took a photo of him and thanked him. The doctor then proceed onwards to follow Rose. Rebecca then just strolled on over to the Face of Boe.

“The Gift of Peace.” She said to the face in the jar. “I give you air from my lungs.” She said breathing against the glass.

“Glad I can take your breath away.” The head said. Rebecca’s jaw dropped and she let out a laugh.

“We’ll aren’t you quite the charmer.” She said beginning to get into a very comfortable conversation with the face of Boe.

“Do you think Lady Cassandra would be insulted if I corrected her information about Earth and her antiques?”

“Are you qualified?”

“Extremely.” She said.

“Then I would just be cautious.” He warned. “She doesn’t seem like the nicest woman around.”

“It’s your party, why invite her then?” Suddenly the whole entire platform shook.

“What’s going on?”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rose had run down the hallway to a different part of the ship and stared out the window at the raging sun. Somehow staring at the Sun and the Earth was comforting to her. A new equally blue Alien, a female, came down the hallway and Rose gave her a look.

“Sorry, am I allowed to be in here?” Rose asked her. The blue woman looked around uneasily before quietly giving her reply.

“You have to give us permission to talk.”

Unsure of what to say Rose stammered a bit. “Uh…you… have permission?”

“Thank you! And no, you’re not in the way. Guest are allowed anywhere.” The woman knelt down next to a panel in the wall and began punching in a code.

“What's your name?”

“Raffalo.”

“Raffalo?”

“Yes, Miss. I won't be long, I've just got to carry out some maintenance. There's a tiny little glitch in the Face of Bo’s suite. There must be something blocking the system - he's not getting any hot water.”

“So, you're a plumber?” Rose questioned.

“That's right, Miss.”

“They still have plumbers?” The idea seemed incredulous to her seeing that she was completely surrounded by Aliens and they had something so.. so normal as a plumber.

“I hope so! Else I'm out of a job!” The two women laughed at that.

“Where are you from?”

“Crespallion.”

“That's a planet, is it?”

“No, Crespallion's part of the Jaggit Brocade, affiliated to the Scarlet Junction, Convex 56. And where are you from, Miss?” Raffalo seemed to remember the fact that she was just a worker aboard and then corrected herself.  
“If you don't mind me asking.”

“No! Not at all. Erm... I dunno, a long way away... I just sort of, hitched a lift with this man.  
I didn't even think about it... I don't even know who he is... he's a complete stranger...” Rose listened to herself and realized how insane she sounded and snapped herself out of it.  
“Anyway, don't let me keep you. Good luck with it!” She then proceeded down the hall.

“Thank you, Miss. And—“ Rose turned back to look at Raffalo.  
“Thank you for the permission. Not many people are that considerate.”

“'Kay. See you later.” Rose gave her a smile and continued down the corridor.

“Would the owner of the blue box in private gallery 15 please report to the steward’s office immediately. Guests are reminded that use of all teleportation devices is strictly forbidden under Peace Treaty 5.4/cup/16. Thank you.” The steward’s voice said over the loud speaker. The Doctor, realizing that the steward was referring to the Tardis ran over to the Stewards office.

“Earth Death in 25 minutes. Earth Death in 25 minutes.” The computer said over the intercom.

“Oh, thanks.” Rose said to the announcement sitting herself down on the steps in the viewing gallery. She turned her attention to the cutting of Jabe’s grandfather and began to talk to it.

“Hello! My name's Rose. That's a sort of plant. According to Rebecca, we might be related...” she suddenly realized how stupid she sounded.  
“I’m Talking to a twig.”

Meanwhile, down the hallway, The TARDIS was being moved away by some of the staff. The Doctor watched them carrying it away

“Oi, now, careful with that. Park it properly. No scratches.” He would allow no harm to befall his beautiful Tardis. One of the short workers came up to him squeaking and handed him a card that read ‘have a nice day.’ the doctor looked at the workers and shook his head, remembering that he was looking for Rose.”

“Rose? Are you in there? Aye aye! What do you think, then?” he asked sitting beside her.

“Great! Yeah... fine. Once you get past the slightly psychic paper...” The doctor laughed but he could sense Rose’s discomfort.

“They're just, so alien.” The Doctor gave her a questioning look biting back the retort that was forming in his mind, Well, they’re Aliens. What did you expect?  
“The aliens. Are so alien. You look at 'em... and they're alien.”

“Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South.” He said. He figured that would be better than his previous retort.

“Where are you from?” That was not a question he wanted to answer.

“All over the place.” He stated, looking back towards the window where the sun continued to rage.

“They all speak English.”  
“No - you just hear English. It's a gift of the TARDIS. Telepathic field, gets inside your brain - translates.” The Doctor corrected.

“It's inside my brain?” Rose asked horrified.

“Well, in a good way.”

“Your machine gets inside my head. It gets inside and it changes my mind, and you didn't even ask?” Rose was starting to sound angry and the Doctor was thrown by this.

“I didn't think about it like that.”

“No! You were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South! Who are you then, Doctor? What are you called? What sort of alien are you?” He didn't want to think about home, or what used to be home. He didn't want to remember the Time war and all that he had done.

“I'm just The Doctor.”

“From what planet?”

“Well, it's not as if you'll know where it is!” He retorted.

“Where are you from?!”

“What does it matter?”

“Tell me who you are!”

 

“This is who I am, right here, right now, alright? All that counts is here and now, and this is me!” The Doctor snapped. Didn’t she get the hint that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Yeah, and I'm here too because you brought me here, so just tell me!” Rose yelled back. The Doctor just got up and walked down the few steps toward the window.

“Earth Death in 20 minutes. Earth Death in 20 minutes.” The computer voice once more said over the intercom. Rose sighed. Maybe she was pushing him to hard.

“Alright... as my mate Shareen says... don't argue with the designated driver...” she said from behind him. He smiled at that.  
“Can't exactly call for a taxi... there's no signal. We're out of range. Just a bit!” Rose joked.

“Tell you what...” The doctor said taking her phone. “With a little bit of jiggery pokery...” removing the back of the phone, he began to use his sonic screwdriver.

“Is that a technical term, 'jiggery pokery'?”  
“Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery, what about you?”

“Nah, failed hullabaloo.”

“Oooh.” He put the battery back in the phone and returned it Rose. “That should do it.” She took the phone uncertainly, but once receiving a nod from the doctor, she dialed up her mum.

“Hello?”

“Mum?”

“Oh, what is it? What's wrong? What have I done now? Oh, this red top's falling to bits! You should get your money back. Go on! There must be something, you never phone in the middle of the day!” Rose laughed.

“What's so funny?”

“Nothing! You all right, though?”

“Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?”

"What day is it?"

“Wednesday. All day. You got a hangover? Oh, I tell you what, put a quid in that lottery syndicate, I'll pay you back later.”  
“Yeah, um, I was just calling 'cause I might be late home.”

“Is there something wrong?”  
“No! I'm fine! Top of the world!” The Doctor let out a laugh as she hung up.

“Think that's amazing, you want to see the bill.”

“That was 5 billion years ago. So... she's dead now. Five billion years later, my mum's dead.”

“Bundle of laughs, you are.” Suddenly the ship began to shutter. That's not supposed to happen...”

Rebecca who was still with the face of Boe, excused herself to go find the doctor and Rose to figure out what the Shuttering was. She heard a scream by the Stewards office and was about to investigate when the Doctor and Rose passed her.

“ ...this is the Bad Wolf scenario...” The Moxx of Balhoon said to the face of Boe. The rest of the party seemed oblivious to anything happening.

“Doctor I heard a scream and I felt a shake! What’s happening?”

“Don’t know yet Rebecca. I do know that wasn't a gravity pocket. I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that.” He began to fiddle with a control panel beside the door.

“What do you think, Jabe? Listened to the engines - they pitched up about 30 hertz, is that dodgy or what?”

“It's the sound of metal, it doesn't make any sense to me.”

“Where's the engine room?” he asked.

“I don't know... but the maintenance duct is just behind our guest's suite, I could show you. And...” she gestured to Rose and Rebecca. “your wives.”

“They aren’t my wives.”

“Partners?”

“No.”

“Concubines?”

“Hey!” Rebecca cried out taking offence.

“Nope.”

“Prostitute...” Jabe questioned.

“Whatever I am, it must be invisible, do you mind? Tell you what, you two go and pollinate, I'm going to catch up with family. Quick word with Michael Jackson.” Rose said pulling Rebecca over with her toward Cassandra.

“Rebecca, make sure she doesn’t start any fights!”

“You got it doc’!”

“Well I’m all yours now Jabe.” He offered the tree woman his arm and they began to make their way toward the control room.

“And I want you home by midnight!” Rose cried out to them. The Doctor replied only with a grim.

“Earth Death in 15 minutes. Earth Death in 15 minutes.” The computer voice said.

 

“Who's in charge of Platform One? Is there a captain or what?” The Doctor asked of Jabe as they proceeded to her room.

“There's just the steward and the staff. All the rest is controlled by the metal man.”

“You mean the computer? But who controls that?”

“The Corporation. They move Platform One from one artistic event to another.”

“But there's no one from the corporation on board.” And that fact worried the Doctor.

“They're not needed. This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the alpha class. Nothing can go wrong.”

“Unsinkable?”

“If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate.”

“You're telling me. I was on board another ship once. They said that was unsinkable... I ended up clinging to an iceberg, it wasn't half cold. So, what you're saying is, if we get in trouble there's no one to help us out?”

“I'm afraid not.”

“Fantastic” he said with a grin, continuing on his way.

“I don't understand. In what way is THAT fantastic?” Jabe asked running after him.

“Soon, the sun will blossom into a red giant, and my home will die. That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy. Down there. Mummy and Daddy had a little house built into the side of the Los Angeles Crevice.” Cassandra said with a sigh to Rose as they stared out the window. “I had such fun”

Rebecca had already wandered back to the Face of Boe and was having a debate about cosmetic surgeries after making a remark about Cassandra.

“I think Cosmetic surgeries are awful! Unless it is to help someone who was born with a physical deformity or in an accident, I don’t think it should be done.”

“We have the technology. Why not use it?”

“Because we are made the way we were for a reason! Humans aren’t meant to look like trampolines or stretched canvases! They’re meant to look like this!” she said gesturing to her own body.

“Like Greek Goddesses?” The face of Boe asked. Rebecca’s face flushed.

“I do not look like a Greek Goddess or a goddess of any sort. But thank you! But you got me off track! The Point is that our bodies are anatomically this way for a reason.”

“What happened to everyone else? The Human Race - where did it go?” Rose asked.

“They say Mankind has touched every star in the sky.”

“So, you're NOT the last human.”

“I am the last PURE human. The others... mingled.” Her voice full of disgust. “Oh, they call themselves 'New Humans' and 'Proto-humans' and 'Digi-humans' even 'Human-ish' but you know what I call them?” she lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Mongrels.”

“Right.” Rose rolled her eyes. “ And you stayed behind.”

“I kept myself pure.”

“How many operations have you had?”

“708. Next week, it's 709, I'm having my blood bleached. Is that why you wanted a word? You could be flatter, Rose. You've got a little bit of a chin poking out.” Rose touched her chin, angered.

“I'd rather die.” Her voice now filled with disgust.

“Honestly, it doesn't hurt—“

“No, I mean it. I'd rather die. It's better to die than live like you - a bitchy trampoline.”

“Oh well. What do you know?” Cassandra scoffed.

“I was born on that planet. And so was my mum, and so was my dad and that makes me officially the last human being in this room, 'cause you're not human. You've had it all nipped and tucked and flattened till there's nothing left. Anything human got chucked in the bin. You're just skin, Cassandra. Lipstick and skin. Nice talking.”

“Oh dear. I better go after her.” Rebecca told the face of Boe. “Pleasure talking to you Boe!”

“Call me Jack!” he called off after her. (BOOM)

“ROSE WAIT UP!” Rebecca called after her following her down a hallway.

“I just snapped at her. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re right! She is a bitchy trampoline!”Rebecca said with a laugh. “She was only invited because she claims to be the last human at least that’s what the face of Boe says.”

“What exactly is the face of Boe?” Rose wondered.  
“You know what? That’s a good question. I didn’t think to ask. But he’s a big flirt!”

“Seriously?”

“Oh yeah! Oh hello!” Rebecca waved to the Adherents of the Repeated Meme who were walking toward her and Rose. The two girls were then struck down blacking out.

 

The Doctor and Jabe were still making their way down the corridor, the low ceiling forcing them to stoop slightly.

“So, tell me, Jabe. What's a tree like you doing in a place like this?”

“Respect for the Earth.”

“Oh,come on. Everyone on this platform's worth zillions.”

“Well... perhaps it's a case of having to be seen at the right occasions.” She admitted.

“In case your share prices drop? I know you lot. You've got massive forests everywhere, roots everywhere, and there's always money in land.”

“All the same. You respect the Earth as family. So many species evolved from that planet. Mankind is only one. I'm another. My ancestors were transplanted from the planet down below. And I'm a direct descendant of the tropical rainforest.” The doctor looked at her, impressed with her ancestry.

“Excuse me.” He said, getting out his sonic screw driver and poking the screen of the control panel with it.

“And what about your ancestry, Doctor? Perhaps you could tell a story or two... perhaps a man only enjoys trouble when there's nothing else left...” Jabe knew he would be reluctant to answer her.

“I scanned you earlier when I took your picture. The metal machine had trouble identifying your species - refused to admit your existence.” The Doctor tried to shut her out focusing on the control panel, but for the briefest of moments, the memories of the other time lords came back.

“And even when it named you, I wouldn't believe it. But it was right.” He had to stop then. It was becoming too much.

“I know where you're from. Forgive me for intruding, but it's remarkable that you even exist. I just want to say... how sorry I am.” Jabe put a comforting hand on his arm and the doctor placed his hand on top of hers. His eyes were brimming with tears and he only allowed one tear to fall before pushing the memories back far into his mind into a corner, trying to stop himself from accessing them again. He wiped the tear away and finished his scan moving onto another room.

The Doctor and Jabe found themselves in the ventilation chamber, a room filled with huge fans circulating the air.  
“Is it me, or is it a bit nippy? Fair do's, though, that's a great bit of air conditioning. Sort of, nice and old fashioned. Bet they call it 'retro'.” Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor began to scan the control panels of the room. Suddenly his screwdriver began to buzz louder.

“Gotcha.” The panel fell off of the wall, and a metal spider scuttled out and scurried up the wall.

“What the hell's that?”

“Is it part of the 'retro' Doctor?”

“I don't think so. Hold on.” The Doctor pointed his Sonic screwdriver at the creature, but Jabe beat him to it, shooting it with something from her hand.

“Hey! Nice liana!”

“Thank you! We're not supposed to show them in public.” She said embarrassed.

“Don't worry, I won't tell anybody. Now then. Who's been bringing the pets on board?”

“What does it do?”

“Sabotage.” The Doctor said darkly.

“Earth Death in 10 minutes.”

“And the temperature's about to rocket. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and the two hurried from the chamber, entering a corridor filled with smoke. The tiny staff members coughed their squeaky little coughs.

“Come on! Get back!” The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the control panel until the computer responded.

“Sunfilter rising.Sunfilter rising.” A god-awful stench filled the air.

“Was the steward in there?” Jabe asked concerned.

“You can smell him. Hold on-There’s another sun filter program to descend.”

“Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter Descending.” Inside the viewing gallery, Rebecca woke to the sound of Britney Spear’s “Toxic” playing and the vision that the Sunfilter’s on the windows were descending.

“Crap. LET ME OUT!” Rebecca yelled banging on the door.

“Sunfilter descending.”

“Anyone in there?” The Doctor asked.

“ITS REBECCA AND ROSE IS HERE, KNOCKED OUT! GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!”

“Oh, well, it would be you two! I told you not to get into any fights.”

“Not my fault! Now open the door you stupid Time Lord!”

“Hold on! Give us two ticks!” He fiddled with the control panel.

“Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter descending.” A few more tweaks before the computer was back to normal.

“Sunfilter rising. Sunfilter rising.”

“Phew… Thank you Jesus!”

“Sunfilter rising... Sunfilter descending.”

“This is just what we need. The computer's getting clever.”

“How the hell is a computer getting clever? COMPUTERS DON’T THINK! STOP MUCKING ABOUT!” Rose woke up at that moment.

“I'm not mucking about, it's fighting back!”

“Open the door.”

“Hang on!”

“Doctor, The locks melted” Rose called down, running down the stairs of the gallery, looking for another way out.

“Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter descending.” The Doctor jabbed his sonic screwdriver straight into the wiring.  
“Sunfilter rising. Sunfilter rising.”

“The whole thing's jammed. I can't open the doors. Stay there! Don't move!” The Doctor called out sprinting away.

“Where're we gonna go?! Ipswich?!”

“I hate being the damsel in distress.” Rebecca huffed sliding down next to the door.

“Earth Death in 5 minutes.”

Jabe looked at her computer, confirming her fears. “The metal machine confirms. The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of platform one.”

“How's that possible? Our private rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturize me, moisturize me.” Cassandra cried out for her minions. The doctor grabbed the destabilized spider from Jabe.

“Summon the Steward!” The Moxx of Balhoon proclaimed, the other guests nodded agreeing with that idea.

“I'm afraid the Steward is dead.” Jabe said. Gasps were heard throughout the room.

“Who killed him?”

“This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Bo! He invited us!” An angry Cassandra cried. The Face of Bo shook his head.  
“Talk to the face! Talk to the face!”

“Easy way of finding out. Someone bought a little pet on board.” With a few pulses from the sonic screwdriver, the spider was up and running once more. “Let’s send him back to Master.” He placed the spider on the floor and it scuttled over to Cassandra before moving to the feet of the Adherents of the repeated meme.

“The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. J'accuse!”

“That's all very well, and really kind of obvious, but if you stop and think about it...” One of the Adherents tried to strike the Doctor at this point but he simply caught it’s arm and ripped it off.  
“A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are. An idea.” He pulled out a wire from the arm and the Adherents all collapsed to the ground.  
“Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the realtroublemaker. Go on, Jimbo!” he nudged the spider with his foot.  
“Go home!”  
The spider ambled back over to Cassandra.

“I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed. At arms!” Her two bodyguards held up their canisters.  
“What are you going to do, moisturize me?” he mocked.

“With acid. Oh, too late anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just as pretty face.”

“Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it? How stupid's that?”

“I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous.”

“Five billion years and it still comes down to money.” He shook his head, people never learned.

“Do you think it's cheap, looking like this? Flatness costs a fortune. I am The Last Human, Doctor. Me. Not that freaky little kid of yours.”

“Arrest her!” The Moxx of Balhoon cried.

“Oh, shut it, pixie. I've still got my final option.”

“Earth Death in 3 minutes.”

“And here it comes. You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? "Burn, baby, burn."” She laughed.

“Then you'll burn with us.” Jabe said fiercely.

“Oh, I'm so sorry. I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but... I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders - activate.” Explosions could be heard around the ship.  
“Force fields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband. Oh, shame on me. Buh-bye, darlings! Buh-bye, my darlings...” And with that she teleported out.

“Heat levels rising.”

“Reset the computer!” The Moxx of Balhoon said.

“Only the Steward would know how.” Jabe shook her head.

“No. We can do it by hand. There must be a system restore switch. Jabe, come on. You lot- Just chill!

“This is my fault.” Rose said burying her head in her hands.

“Shut up! No it’s not! Wait Rose do you see that?” She pointed to a vent.

“What about it?”

“That might just be our salvation. We might be able to crawl out through there.” She ran to the vent and began unscrewing the hinges with her pocketknife. She pulled off the cover and pulled herself in.

“Phew! It’s hot in here! Come on Rose!” she offered the blonde her hand and pulled her into the vent with her and they began crawling through the ventilation ducts.

“Earth death in two minutes. Earth Death in two minutes. Heat levels-critical. Heat levels-critical”

The Doctor and Jabe reached the ventilation room and were alarmed by the enormous fans that were spinning quite speedily.

“Oh. And guess where the switch is.” He looked across and saw the switch across the pathway that was being blocked by the enormous deadly fans.

“Heat levels - rising. Heat levels - rising.” The Doctor pulled down a lever and the fans started to slow down.  
“External temperature - 5 thousand degrees.” As soon as the doctor released the lever, the fans sped up again and he looked at the switch hopelessly. Jabe then pulled down the lever.

“You can't. The heat's going to vent through this place.”

“I know.”

“Jabe, you're made of wood.”

“Then stop wasting time. Time Lord.” At that moment Rebecca and Rose pushed through a vent.

“Oh Hello! We’ll take it from here Jabe. Don’t worry about it!” Rebecca said clambering out of the vent. She pulled down the lever.  
“Now get out Jabe!” Rose told her, helping Rebecca. The doctor smiled at the two humans before running past the first fan.

“Heat levels - rising. Heat levels - rising.”

“Heat levels - hazardous.” He ran past a second one.

“Shields malfunctioning. Shields malfunctioning.”  
“Heat levels - rising. Heat levels - rising.”

“I hate to rush you Doc but if my sense of timing is right then you have about 12 seconds before the Earth EXPLODES and we go up with it!”

“Planet explodes in 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4...” The Doctor walked calmly past the last fan and then dashed to the switch pulling it down.  
“Raise shields!” The Force fields around the ship were reset just as the Earth was engulfed in flames, exploding. But the ship remained uunharmed. The Exoglass around the ship began to repair itself. The Doctor then walked back through the fans to the two human girls waiting for him.

First thing Rebecca did was smack his arm.

“Oi! What was that for?”

“Cutting it kind of close!”

“It got done! Come on we have more work to do.” He ran out of the ventilation chamber with Rose and Rebecca hot on his heels. When they reached the Manchester Suite and saw Jabe alive and with her companions he let out a small sigh of relief.

“You all right?” she asked coming over to him.

“Yeah, I'm fine. I'm full of ideas, I'm bristling with them. Idea number one - teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two - this feed must be hidden nearby.”

“Like here?” Rebecca said cracking open the so called Ostritch Egg.

“Exactly. Idea number three - if you're as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed.” He twisted the feed and Cassandra appeared before them.  
“Ah, you should have seen their little alien faces.” Suddenly aware of her new surroundings, Cassandra stopped her gloating. “Oh.”

“The Last Human.” The doctor said darkly.

“ So… Um yes! You passed my little test. Bravo. This makes you eligible to join the er... the human club.”

“ People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them.”

“That depends on your definition of 'people'. And that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court then, Doctor! And watch me smile, and cry, and flutter...” Suddenly there was a creak.

“And creak?”

“And what?”

“Creak! You're creaking.” Rebecca and Rose watched Cassandra’s skin begin to tighten, and she began to get paler and paler.

“What? Ah! Ah! I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturize me! Moisturize me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!”

“You raised the temperature.”

“Have pity! Moisturize me! Oh, Doctor!”

“Help her.” Rose said, putting her hand on his arm.

“Everything has its time and everything dies.”

“I'm... too... young!” She exploded and the Doctor stared at where she had been for a moment, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened.

“I’m gonna get the Tardis ready.” He told Rebecca who was wishing the Face of Bo farewell.

“It was a pleasure meeting you Bo.” She smiled at the head in the jar.

“I told you call me Jack!”

“Alright Jack! Maybe we’ll run into each other again someday.”

“I’m sure of that sweetheart! I’ll see you around.” He told her with a hearty laugh as he boarded the shuttle back to his home. Rebecca then climbed aboard the Tardis, to find the doctor programming it.  
“I’m gonna go check on Rose.” The doctor exited past Rebecca, returning to the Manchester suite to find Rose alone, staring sadly at the remnants of the earth.

“The end of the Earth. It's gone. And we were too busy saving ourselves, no one saw it go. All those years... all that history and no one was even looking. It's just...” The doctor offered the girl his hand.  
“Come with me.” The two entered the Tardis to find Rebecca on the jump seat with a book. The Doctor flicked a lever and the Tardis engines started, stopping very soon afterwards. The Doctor led the two girls out of the Tardis back into London 2005.

“You think it'll last forever. People, and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day, it's all gone. Even the sky” The three all looked up at the sky.

“My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust. Before it's time.”

“What happened?”

“There was a war. And we lost.”

“A war with who? What about your people?”

“I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own because there's no one else.”

“There's me...”

“And me too” Rebecca chimed in. She smiled at him.

“You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?” Rebecca quickly shook her head ‘no.’ Rose looked at him for a moment.  
“I don't know. I want...” she sniffed the air for a moment. “Can you smell those chips?”

“Yeah. Yeah!” The Doctor laughed.

“I want chips.”

“Me too.”

“Right then, before you get me back in that box, chips it is, and you can pay.”

“No money.” He said.

“What sort of date are you? Come on then. Chips on me” He smiled at her.

“Correction before you two go. Check your inside left jacket pocket Doctor.” He gave Rebecca an odd look before following her instructions to find a wad of cash in his pocket.  
“Did you know the Tardis does currency exchanges? So you two enjoy your chips.”

“You’re not coming?” Rose questioned.

“Nope! You two enjoy! I want you in by midnight and make sure you treat her right!”

“Yes mum” The Doctor said with an eye roll. Rebecca just responded with a wink. She would get those two together if it was the last thing she did. The Tardis hummed in agreement with her.

“Well come on then. We’ve only got about five million years before the shops close down.” Rose said with a laugh nuzzling into the Doctors arm. Rebecca closed the doors on the Tardis and retreated back to her room picking up where she had left off in her novel. Perhaps half an hour later she had finished the novel and she headed over to the Tardis kitchen to whip herself up some supper. She made herself a sandwich and grabbed a bag of chips or crisps whatever they were called and happily enjoyed a quiet night aboard the Tardis without having to run from Aliens.

“Rebecca! Rose and I decided we want gelato you want in?”

“There are gelato stores in London?”

“No! We have the Tardis we are going to get authentic from Italy!”

“I’m in! Let me change!”

“Fantastic and thank you for the Chip date.” The doctor told her sincerely.

“Glad you two had fun! Now I want some ciccolato! Andiamo!” she laughed.


	4. Venice E Acquisti

After quickly changing into jeans, a tank top, a blazer and some comfortable flats and running a brush through her long brown hair, Rebecca was ready to join the Doctor and Rose for some gelato.

“Welcome to Venice ladies!” he said opening the doors to the Tardis wide exposing the entire city to them. The sun shined brightly upon them as they walked onto one of the cobble stoned streets.

“Doc, do you have any Euros?”

“Yep, got them while you were changing now hurry up.” The three exited the Tardis and began walking around in search of a gelateria. 

“Scusate, sapete dove posso trovare un gelateria signor?*” (Pardon me, do you know where I could find a gelato store sir?) Rebecca asked a man at the corner.

“Sorry Miss. I don’t speak Welsh.” He said hurrying off. 

“Doc, why does my Italian sound like Welsh to that man?”

“The TARDIS translates for you so you don’t need to speak Italian. You can speak English. I guess that’s what happens when you speak that language.”

“Seriously, the one time I go to Italy, I don’t even get to speak Italian!” Rebecca huffed. She then asked another man in English who gladly directed them to a shop three blocks away.  
Rebecca’s jaw dropped when she saw the list of flavors on the wall. Two hundred and forty six flavors of Gelato and 70 of them were some form of chocolate.

“Rose, pinch me now. I must be dreaming.” Rose giggled at her and followed her order, pinching the brunette who let out a shrill squeal.  
“Oh my gosh! How can I ever choose just one flavor when 70 of them have chocolate in them?”

“We can come back 246 times and try every single flavor at some point or another.” The Doctor suggested before ordering a huge Banana chocolate chip gelato Sundae topped with whipped cream. 

“Rose what are you getting?” 

“I might try the Rocky Road.” 

“Really, I thought you were gonna get the Rose flavored one.” Rebecca teased.

“They have Rose flavored Gelato? You’re kidding me!”

“It’s made from essence of rose petals.” 

“Why would anyone wanna eat that?” 

“Why would anyone want to eat Rocky road?” was her reply as she stepped up to the counter ordering a cone with Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake Gelato. Within one lick of her scoop, Rebecca  
was in heaven.

“Doc can we like buy a whole entire like gallon of this and put it on the Tardis for my eating pleasure because I’m pretty sure I just had a foodgasm!” 

“A what?” Rose laughed. 

“A Foodgasm. It’s like an orgasm you have with your taste buds after eating the most delicious things.”

“I tend to forget you’re a teenager Rebecca and then you say something like that…” she blushed at the doctor’s comments and muttered an apology.

“It’s not a bad thing it just reminds me that you’re really young,” and how much danger I’m putting you in. 

“And this forces me to remind you I am willingly here and have seen how dangerous it is and really, really don’t care.”

“How’d ya know-“

“I can see it in your expression. Stop being such a downer! Let’s go on a Gondola ride or go to a flea market or something.”

“Why not do both?” Rose asked with an innocent grin.

“Alright then Ms. Tyler, Ms. Goodman, let’s walk around and see Venice, do some shopping and finish off with a Gondola Ride. God it’s been ages since I’ve been here.”

“When was the last time you came?” Rose questioned, linking arms with the Doctor. 

“Eh, probably after I was in Rome talking Michelangelo into painting the Sistine Chapel..”

“You met Michelangelo.” Rebecca stared wide eyed at the Doctor in awe.

“Yeah, nice man. Not a big fan of heights but I convinced him to paint the ceiling. DaVinci was just Fantastic.”

“You met Leonardo DaVinci.”

“Yes.”

“Did you meet the rest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles as well?” Rose asked with one of her tongue in teeth grins, holding back a giggle.

“Of course. Nice blokes” The Doctor smiled and led the two human girls down a few more cobblestoned streets to a bustling and colorful, market.

“Welcome to Ritalo Market ladies! The way a flea market is meant to be. Don’t touch anything unless you actually want it.”

“Why’s that Doctor?”

“It entices the sellers. And don’t believe any of the sale signs. They lie. Now come on.” Rebecca first stopped off and bought some fresh produce and pasta that she planned on cooking later  
back on the Tardis. 

“Rose, I see jewelry!” Rebecca ran down an aisle of stalls toward a jewelry stall.

“Coming!” the blonde called after her, grabbing the Doctor’s hand and pulling him a long after her. The girls stared at the different pendants scattered amongst the table. The Doctor spotted a beautiful gold Rose pendant and all he wanted to do was buy it for the pink and yellow human who had only traveled with him for a day. 

“Doctor, can we buy these?” Rose said holding up a pair of dangly earrings. 

“Sure,” he whipped out his wallet from the inside of his leather jacket and handed the merchant a few Euros for the set of earrings. He also bought two long plain silver chains that he planned to put the girls’ TARDIS keys on after sonicing to make them stronger. 

“We are definitely trying these when we get back to the TARDIS!” 

“Trying what?” The Doctor questioned the two girls sensing a glint of mischief in their eyes.

“You’ll see doc. Come on then. Andiamo!” Rebecca called out as she started rushing toward another booth down the way. This one was selling silk scarves and cravats.

“I remember when I used to wear one of these.” The Doctor held up a cravat and Rose and Rebecca gave him the most wild of looks.

“You wore a cravat?”

“Well I didn’t look like this then.”

“I can’t picture it. Hell, I can’t even picture you in anything other than this jacket. That’s all you ever wear.” Rebecca asked.

“What’s wrong with my jacket?” The Doctor asked defensively. He was rather fond of this new outfit. It was a disguise, a change from what he had worn in all of his previous regenerations  
which had mostly been suits. It was a pleasant change and very comfortable.

“Nothing’s wrong with it! I think it’s perfect.” Rose patted the said garment with a smile.

“See Rose accepts it! Why can’t you be like Rose?”

“Because playing devil’s advocate is way more fun. Can I get this?” she said holding up a TARDIS blue silk wrap.

“You do realize the TARDIS has a wardrobe right?”

“NO! You never told us that!”

“Must’ve slipped my mind. You haven’t exactly had to use it yet.” 

“Can we use it next trip Doctor?” Rose asked picking up a pretty light pink scarf.

“I suppose. I’ll take the two scarves.” Handing the merchant the Euros, the Doctor handed each girl her respective scarf before receiving a hug.

“Thanks Doc!”

“Thank you Doctor!”

“You’re welcome girls now let’s get a move on it.”

“What too domestic for you Doc? Doing something touristy?”

“Actually, yes. It is. Let’s move along.”

“To the TARDIS then?”

“Nope! Rose decided we’d do the Gondola ride too so we’re gonna ride a Gondola. But I guess we should drop off the food at the TARDIS. ” The Doctor directed them down toward a canal where the three hopped into a Gondola and were off on a slow moving, peaceful boat ride of Venice. The doctor however was fidgeting with things from his pockets and had updated Rebecca’s phone during the ride. He had also commentated about what they were seeing saying when it was from and who had sponsored the building of it. 

“Bored?” Rose asked him

“You have no idea. I’m pretty sure I could’ve read Les Miserables during that boat ride and it’s a brick.” 

“It’s nickname is seriously the brick. It’s like a cinder block. It took me like two weeks to read it. I enjoyed it though Victor Hugo had a way with words.”

“He wasn’t a bad painter either.”

“You met him too? Did you meet Shakespeare?” Rebecca asked excitedly.

“Now that’s an idea. We should do that one day. Go see some authentic Shakespeare in Elizabethan London.”

“Can we head back to the Tardis when we’re done? I’m getting tired. It’s been a long day.” Rose yawned leaning onto the doctor.

“Definitely. We can do that once we hop off the Gondola.” It was another ten minutes before they departed the Gondola and started their way back to the TARDIS. 

“Rose, distract him. I’ll knick his sonic and use it on the Earrings and then we’ll try them out. Okay?” Rebecca whispered.

“Gotcha! So Doctor, Rebecca was telling me about the bone setter that you used on her. Could you tell me how it works?” The Doctor then got himself into a long discussion on the advantages and evolution of fifty-first century medicine when Rebecca knicked the sonic screwdriver from his back pocket and held it against the pair of earrings they had bought. She slipped it back into his pocket and gave Rose the thumbs up. Rose then let out a yawn and stated she was going to bed. Rebecca slipped her one Earring and put the other one in her own ear.

Once, Rose put in her own earring, the two girls were transported to the others spot.

“WICKED! I can’t believe it actually works!” Rebecca cheered. “Let’s go freak out the Doctor. Give me two minutes. Then we put them in and switch places on him.”

“Deal.”

“So Doc, how did the Chip date go with Rose?”

“She has very good taste in Chips.” 

“That’s not what I meant.” She face-palmed before continuing her interrogation. “I meant what did you think of Rose. Do you like her? Is she sweet? Did you kiss?”

“Rebecca…” he glowered at her.

“What? I’m just asking!”

“What Rose and I do is none of your business!” Rebecca then put her earring in and the two girls switched places. Rebecca found herself in Rose’s room and laughed, running back to the  
console room to join the two others.

“But how did you two do that?” 

“These earrings we bought were apparently an antique piece of witchcraft used to switch royals out of unsavory situations in place of their servants. So we figured with a bit of sonicing they  
would work for us and well yeah they did so surprise!” 

“And when did you sonic it?”

“While you were talking about how you fixed Rebecca’s arm.”

“And where’s my Sonic Screwdriver?”

“In your pocket.”

“Doctor, please don’t be mad.” Rose pleaded and gave him a puppy dog face and the Doctor knew instantly he was done for.

“Not mad. Just impressed. Nice job. Those could be useful one day so good ingenuity ladies.” 

“Thank you very much! Now the humans actually do have to go to bed so good night doc.” 

“Night Rebecca. Good night Rose.” He smiled at the two as they walked off towards their rooms.

“Becks can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Yeah sure, what is it?”

“Not out here, come in.” Rose ushered Rebecca into her room and they sat on her bed.

“Look if this is about the Doctor, Rose I’m gonna tell you right now, I’m not interested and not jealous.”

“What?”

“It’s obvious.”

 

“What’s obvious?”

“You two are so freaking thick. My lord. Never mind, what did you want to talk about?”

“I just wanted to say thank you for making him come back for me. You made him ask the second time didn’t you?”

“Well yeah but it’s not a big deal or anything.” 

“No but for me it is. It felt nice to be wanted. I ruined my life for this guy I thought I was in love with when I was sixteen. I dropped out of school and moved in with him. And he treated me like dirt, stole my money, and pretty much ruined my life. And Mickey was trying to make me feel better again, but you wanted me aboard the TARDIS. You wanted to include me and that means the world to me Rebecca. So thank you.” Rebecca’s eyes were now watering and all she could do was nod and hug the blonde.

“You are worth more than what a man makes of you Rose. You’re smart. You can go back to school and build yourself a better future.”

“I’m no braniac like you.”

“You don’t need to be a braniac like me. You need to be you Rose Tyler. Because you are brilliant and smart and pretty and you have a mother who loves you and friends who care about you and that is a lot that you have going on.” Rose stared at her like she was crazy.

“I just graduated last week early, top of my class so I will help you get your A-Levels so you can one day bring them back to your mum and make her proud. What do you say?”

“I say yes and thank you.” The blonde was now tearing up. The two girls embraced once more and then bid each other goodnight. Rebecca headed to her own room and then opened the door  
to what she thought was another closet, only to discover a balcony looking out over the night sky. She sat there in a chair and stared at the heavens pondering everything she had just talked about with Rose and it triggered everything her parents had said to her.

“You’ll never be enough!” “You’re nothing!” “You’re worthless.” All of the phrases swirled in her mind until she fell asleep dreaming of the past she thought she had escaped.


	5. The Unquiet Dead

“RISE AND SHINE LADIES WERE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE!” The Doctor called from the Console room. Rebecca rubbed the sleep from her eyes and quickly got dressed meeting the Doctor and Rose in the console room.

“Well come on then! Rebecca you hold down these two buttons.”

“Got it!” Rebecca stretched putting her leg up on the console to hit the second button.

“Rose, you get these two.” Rose was stretching in attempt to hit the second button.

“Hold that one down!” The doctor pointed again before running over and pulling a lever and cranking something

“I'm HOLDING this one down!”

“Well, hold them BOTH down!”

**“** Doc, It's not going to work! Rose and I can’t stretch that far. I’m half splayed across the TARDIS!”

“Oi! I promised you two a time machine and that's what you're getting. Now, you've seen the future - let's have a look at the past. 1860. How does 1860 sound?”

“Doctor, What happened in 1860?”

“Abraham Lincoln was elected, south Carolina seceded from the Union that December, First Italian parliament meeting, Pemberton Mill Collapse,” Rebecca continued listing things she had memorized for history class. “Anyway where are we going?”

**“** I don't know, let's find out. Hold on, here we go!” The Tardis began screeching as she flew through the time vortex before finally landing with clouds of steam coming from the console. Rebecca had fallen in an awkward position her face in the grating of the floor but she was too busy trying to send a glare towards the Doctor and Rose who were laughing on the floor.

“Blimey!”

“You're telling me! Rose, are you alright?” The Doctor asked rushing toward Rose.

“Yeah. I think so! Nothing broken... did we make it? Where are we?”

“Yeah I’m fine thanks for asking.”

“I did it! Give the man a medal. Earth - Naples - December 24th, 1860.”

“That's so weird... it's Christmas.” Rose said pulling herself up. The Doctor gestured to the Tardis door.

“All yours.”

“But, it's like... think about it, though. Christmas. 1860. Happens once. Just once, and it's gone. It's finished. It'll never happen again. Except for you. ..You can go back and see days that are dead and gone and a hundred thousand sunsets ago... no wonder you never stay still...”

“Not a bad life.” He agreed.

“Better with two.” The two grinned at each other and Rebecca sat there on looking, trying to contain the giddiness that she felt watching her two friends being adorable. Rose suddenly slapped the doctors bum and started laughing again before running towards the door.

“Come on then!”

“Oi, oi, oi! Where do you think you're going?!”

“1860!”

“Not like that you’re not!” Rebecca called out.

“Go out there dressed like that, you'll start a riot, Barbarella! There's a wardrobe through there. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, it's the fifth door on your left. Hurry up!” The Two girls hurried off to the Tardis wardrobe and were instantly in awe by how much clothing from all different times in history.

The two girls each pulled a dress from the 1860’s Earth marked section of the wardrobe and helped each other lace themselves up into the corsets. 

“I always thought these were gorgeous and now that I’m wearing one, I’m glad times have changed.”

“Me too. Now I can vote, go to college, I have rights to my own body for the most part. Not bad.” Rebecca told Rose as she clipped her hair up with a feathered beret and tied on a cloak.

“Meet you in the console room.” She told the blonde as she ran back toward the doctor. She wanted to see his facial expression when Rose came in.

“Well don’t you clean up nicely Rebecca?” he looked up as she sat on the console

“Why thank you doc! Why don’t you get dressed up? I wanted to see you wearing a cravat ever since you said you used to wear one.”

“Maybe I’ll show you a picture.” He began fiddling with the Tardis.

“So since when is Naples, Cardiff and 1860 is 1869?” Rebecca said reading the date and time off of a monitor on the console.

“What?”

“You got the date wrong. The Tardis says it clearly too. How’d you get Naples and 1860?”

“By feel. Oh well.” He continued doing unnecessary repair work on the Tardis.

“She doesn’t like that very much Doctor.” Rose told him, switching off his Sonic. He turned to see her and his jaw dropped.

“Blimey!”

“Don't laugh!”

**“** You look beautiful……” Rose beamed at him. “Considering.” He turned the sonic back on and continued fiddling, looking away awkwardly.

“Considering what?”

“That you're human!” _And he was doing so well. Finally admitted to himself that’s she’s pretty._ Rebecca thought rolling her eyes at the daft time lord.

“I THINK that's a compliment... Aren't you going to change?”

“I've changed my jumper! Come on!” Rose put a hand up to his chest, stopping him.

“You, stay there! You've done this before. This is mine and Becks!” The two girls hurried toward the doors and looked out into the street in awe at the falling snow.

“Ready for this?” he asked offering each of the girls an arm. The three were then linked. “Here we go! History!” Rose and Rebecca were looking around the cobblestone streets, looking at everything from the small shops to the lamp posts ,trying to take it all in. They could hear a choir of Christmas carolers singing in the background.

“Naples is gorgeous at Christmas!” Rose said twirling around.

“I got the flight a bit wrong.”

“I don't care.”

“It's not 1860, it's 1869.”

“I don't care!”

“And it's not Naples.”

**“** I don't care.”

“It's Cardiff.”

“Right...”

“Sorry, what’s wrong with Cardiff Doc?” 

“It’s like the New Jersey of the UK!”

“There’s nothing wrong with Jersey!”

“Nothings right with it either Rebecca.” That’s when Rebecca ran across the street to the theater.

“Oh my goodness! You’ve got to be kidding me! This is so cool!” she said reading the poster, announcing a reading by Charles Dickens.

“Rebecca wait up!” Rose called out to her but it was too late. Rebecca was already in the theater. The Doctor shrugged and just continued walking with Rose down the snow covered streets. Inside the theater Rebecca stood at the back and watched in awe as one of her favorite Authors read from one of the most classic holiday stories ever written.

“Now, it is a fact, that there was nothing particular about the knocker on the door of this house. But let any man explain to me if he can, how it happened, that Scrooge, having his key in the lock of the door, saw in the knocker, without it's undergoing any intermediate process of change, not a knocker - but Marley's face.” The Audience gasped at that and Rebecca couldn’t hold back her smile. She had read A Christmas Carol.

“Marley's face! It looked at Scrooge as Marley used to look. It looked like...” Suddenly Dickens stopped talking and stared at something in the audience. Rebecca looked at him and saw a certain fear spread across his face. Something was most definitely wrong.

“Oh, my lord! It looked... like that!” Dickens cried out, pointing a finger at someone in the audience. “What phantasmagoria is this?” An old woman rose from her street and let out a long wail. A blue sort of spirit seemed to rise out of the woman from her mouth. The audience terrified by that began to scream in horror. 

Outside the Doctor heard the screams and grabbed Rose running toward the theater. “That's more like it!”

“Stay in your seats, I beg you. It is a lantern show, it's trickery.” Dickens begged from his position on the stage. Rebecca wasn’t buying the special effects bit at all. She noticed that two people, a young woman and an older gentleman, were fighting against the crowd trying to get back into the theater.

“There she is, sir!” The woman cried.

“I can see that! The whole bloomin' world can see that!” The Doctor and Rose entered watching the gas from the woman’s mouth, zoom around the room.

_“_ Fantastic!” The Doctor approached Dickens who was still on stage. “Did you see where it came from?”

“Ah. The wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you're satisfied, sir!”

“DOC! It was that woman!” Rebecca pointed to where the old woman had been only to see the young woman and the older man taking her away.

**“** Oi! Leave her alone!Doctor, I'll get 'em!”

“I’ll follow Rose!” Rebecca picked up her skirts and began running after Rose and the others with the body.

“Be careful! Did it say anything? Could it speak? I’m the Doctor by the way.” The Doctor had hopped up onto the stage beside Dickens.

“Doctor? You look more like a navy.”

“What's WRONGwith this jumper?” he asked indignantly before going to explore the theater in search of clues.

Outside the theater,  the old man and the woman had loaded the old woman’s body into the Hearse when Rose and Rebecca caught up them.

“What're you doing?!” Rose asked the woman.

“Oh, it's such a tragedy, miss. Don't worry yourself, me and the master will deal with it.  The fact is, this poor lady's been taken with the brain fever and we have to get her to the infirmary.” Rose pushed the woman aside and felt the old woman’s forehead only to discover she was cold.

“She's cold... she's dead! My God, what did you do to her?” Suddenly she found a tissue pressed to her mouth and she felt herself struggling to stay awake before passing out.

“ROSE!” Rebecca struggled to get past the man who pushed her to the ground, causing her to hit her head.

“HEY! YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!” A man’s voice called. The old man and the woman quickly just loaded Rose’s body into the hearse leaving a dazed and dizzy Rebecca on the street.  A young man, dressed way out of the time approached her, wearing a leather vest and trousers and a white tee-shirt.

“What happened?” Rebecca mumbled trying to sit up.

“The sight of me knocked you off your feet, sweetheart.” He said. The tone and wording sounded familiar to Rebecca but she couldn’t place it. She laughed anyway, as he helped her sit up.  She tried looking at the man but she was rather disoriented but she did notice that he was young, had dark hair and seemed rather attractive. She didn’t know him though.

“You don’t belong here. You’re dressed funny.” She said. She saw him frown at that. He just pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head before getting up.

“Find Rose.” He said before walking away, a certain sadness in his eyes and realization spreading across his face. The Doctor ran out and he knew whoever that man was felt wrong to him. He was a fixed point in time.  But he saw Rebecca struggling to get up and to him.

“THEY HAVE ROSE!” she yelled.  He ran after the hearse calling her name.

“You're not escaping me, sir! What do you know about that hobgoblin, hm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?” Dickens asked him. The Doctor simply stared after the hearse as Rebecca walked clumsily toward him.

“Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks.” The Doctor spotted a carriage and he yelled at the driver to stop. Rebecca knowing it wouldn’t work, whistled.

“Where’d ya learn to whistle like that?”

“Being a camp counselor. Not important. They got Rose.”

“Oi, you! Follow that hearse!” The Doctor helped Rebecca into the Coach before hopping in himself.

_“_ You can't do that, sir!”

“Why not?”

“Why not?! I'll give you a very good reason why not! This is my coach!”

“Well, hop in sir!”

“MOVE!” The Doctor told the coach who proceeded to listen.  
 **  
**“Everything in order, Mr. Dickens?” the Driver questioned.

**“** No! It is not!”

“What did he say?” The Doctor asked.

“Doc, meet Charles Dickens!”

“Let me say this first. I'm not without a sense of humour—“ Dickens continued.

**“** Dickens?”

“Yes.”

“Charles Dickens?”

“Already told you that!”

“Yes.”

**“** THECharles Dickens?”

“Yes Doctor this was established already.”

“Shall I remove the gentleman, sir?”

“Charles Dickens! You're brilliant, you are! Completely 100% brilliant! I've read 'em all! Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?”

“A Christmas Carol?”

**“** No, no, no, the one with the trains”

“The Signal Man?” Rebecca queried.

“That’s it, terrifying! The best short story ever written! You're a genius!"

“You want me to get rid of him, sir?”

“Er, no, I think he can stay.”

“Oh Mr. Dickens I love your work so much. It is such an honor to meet you! Great Expectations and a Tale of Two Cities are simply inspired. You’re such a genius sir!” Rebecca gushed at the man.

“Why thank you miss!”

“Would you mind autographing this for me?” she said pulling a piece of parchment out of her small satchel.

“Of course my dear. To whom am I writing it?”

“Rebecca Goodman sir!” he quickly pulled out a quill and an inkwell from a compartment in the carriage door and flipped up a piece of wood, a bit like a desk.

“That is an amazing innovation sir!”

“Well creativity strikes at any time Ms. Goodman! One must be prepared” he wrote her a quick message on the parchment and she couldn’t help but grin like an idiot when he handed it back to her. She hugged it to her chest and giggled.

“I WILL TREASURE IT ALWAYS!"

“Honestly, Charles - can I call you Charles? I'm such a big fan.” The doctor began.

“...what? A what?”

“Fan! Number One Fan, that's me.”

“Lies! That would be me Mr. Dickens!”

“How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?”

“It’s more like an admirer, someone who greatly enjoys and takes pleasure in someone elses work.”

“No, it means 'Fanatic', devoted to. Mind you, I've gotta say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what was that about?! Was that just padding or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit.”

“Rude Doc.”

“I thought you said you were my fan.” Dickens asked disgruntled.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s a touch mad sir.”

“Ah, well, if you can't take criticism... go on, though the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up. No, sorry, come on, faster!”

“Who exactly IS in that hearse?”

“My friend.” Rebecca sniggered at that statement.

“Doctor don’t pretend Rose is just your friend we all know you fancy-“ The Doctor put a hand over Rebecca’s mouth to stop her.

“She’s only nineteen, and it's my fault. She's in my care, and now she's in danger.”

“Why are we wasting my time talking about dry old books? This is much more important. Driver! Be swift! The chase is on!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Thatta boy, Charlie!”

“Nobody calls me Charlie.”

“The ladies do.”

“How do you know that?”

“I told you - I'm your Number One—“

“Number One Fan, yes... but no one calls me Charlie.”

“Can I call you Charlie?” Rebecca asked with a small pout.

“She’s an exception to the rule.” Suddenly the carriage stopped.

“We’re here sir.” Suddenly the two gentlemen exited the carriage helping Rebecca out.

“A Funeral Parlor? That explains the hearse. Now let’s find Rose gentleman shall we?”

Rebecca, Dickens and the Doctor walked up to the doorway together where Dickens then pounded on the door.

 “I'm sorry, sir, we're closed.” The woman said quietly

“Nonsense! Since when did an undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master.”

“He's not in, sir.” The woman attempted to shut the door, but Dickens pushed it open once more.

“Don't lie to me, child!”

“I'm awfully sorry, Mr. Dickens, but the master's indisposed.” The woman pleaded. Behind her, a gas lamp began to flare up.

“Doc, I don’t know much about Gas lamps but that’s not normal is it?”

“What the Shakespeare is going on?” Dickens cried out. The Doctor disregarding the two, pushed his way into the building and pressed his ear to the wall.

“You're not allowed inside, sir!”

“Yeah sorry miss, we aren’t really the rule abiding type.”

“ Rebecca, There's something inside the walls.” Rebecca then stood beside the Doctor with her own ears against the wall. “The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas.”

“But how?” The sound of glass breaking distracted her.

“Let me out! Open the door!”

“We’re coming Rose!” Rebecca called out beginning to run toward the sound

"That's her.” The Doctor told Dickens and then followed Rebecca so they could rescue Rose. Dickens followed the pair.

“Please, let me out!” Rose cried out, trying to escape the two corpses that were following her.

The Doctor pushed past the older man who had kidnapped Rose to get to her when the man began to yell.

"This is my house!”

 “You kidnapped my friend and you hit me over the head and nearly caused me to pass out. You shut your mouth and move the hell out of my way!” Rebecca yelled at him. Dickens charged past him as well and the man started to yell at the girl.

“Gwyneth, I told you not to let anyone in!”

“I’m sorry Mr. Sneed.”

 Rose was still pounding on the door “Let me out! Somebody, open the door! Open the door!” Her screams then became muffled as a hand was clasped over her mouth. The Doctor was trying to Sonic the door but when it wasn’t working he just kicked down the door.

 “Nice job Doc!”

“I think this is MY dance.” The Doctor growled at the Corpse who had Rose hostage. Immediately the corpse released his hold on Rose.

“It's a prank? It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence.” Dickens said.

“No Charlie, we’re not. The Dead are walking.”

“Hi” The Doctor grinned at the panting Rose, glad to see that she was alive.

“Hi! Who's your friend?”

 “Charles Dickens.”

“Oh. Okay. Rebecca you okay?”

“Old man over there tried to knock me out but I’m alright now. You?”

“Just Peachy.” 

“You two shush. Socialize later.” He then began to address the corpses. “ My name's the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?”

 “We're failing. Open the rift, we're dying. Trapped in this form - cannot sustain - help us.” The two corpses raised their heads toward the heavens as the blue gas began to leave them with a loud wailing sound, returning to the gas pipes. The corpses then both collapsed on the ground.

 “I think we should have some tea while we work this out. D’ya mind?”

 “I think I could use something stronger.” Dickens said. Rebecca laughed at the writer and just linked arms with him and began pulling him toward the parlor.

“We’ll need you thinking clearly Charlie. Let’s go.” Gwyneth began preparing tea for all of them while Rose began to yell at Sneed.

“First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man.” The Doctor was glaring at Sneed.

“I won't be spoken to like this!”

“Oh its fine for you to drug Rose and knock me out but heaven forbid that you receive a tongue lashing from your two victims!”

“ Exactly! Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain't enough - you swan off! And leave me to die! So come on - talk!” Rose yelled at Sneed and he began to cower at her words.

“It's not my fault, it's this house! It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back. And then the stiffs—“

Both Rebecca and Dickens shot a look at Sneed for his disrespect of the death.

“...the er, dear departed started getting restless.”

“Tommyrot.”

“You witnessed it! Can't keep the beggars down, sir! They walk. And it's the queerest thing that they hang on to scraps...” Gwyneth handed the Doctor his tea.

“Two sugars, sir, just how you like it.” The Doctor looked at her retreating figure wondering how she had known that small bit of information.

“One old fella who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service! Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir! Just as she planned.”

“Morbid fancy.”

“Oh, Charles, you were there”

“Charlie come on you saw the blue gas leaving the woman in the theater. You saw it all happen!”

“I saw nothing but an illusion.” Rebecca huffed at this. How thick could a man who had written about the paranormal be about seeing it in real life?”

“If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up.Sneed, What about the gas?”

“That's new, sir, never seen anything like that.”

“Means it's getting stronger, the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through.”

“Sorry Doctor, but what’s the rift?”

“A weak point in time and space. The connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time.”

“So that's how I got the house so cheap! Stories going back generations. Echoes in the dark. Queer songs in the air and this feeling like a... shadow. Passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine.”

“Doc, where did Charlie boy go?” Rebecca questioned as she began sipping her tea, allowing the warmth to envelop her.

“I’ll go find him.”

 Dickens went back into the room where Rose was locked up and removed the lid off the coffin, where Redpath, the younger male corpse was lying peacefully, his arms crossed across his chest. Dickens proceeded to wave his hands in front of his face, shake him a bit, and fumble around underneath the coffin, trying to find a way to prove his hypothesis that this was all impossible.

“Checking for strings?” The doctor asked, coming from the doorway

“Wires, perhaps? There must be some mechanism behind this fraud!”

“Oh, come on, Charles. All right. I shouldn't have told you to shut up. I'm sorry. But you've got one of the best minds in the world. You saw those gas creatures.”

“I cannot accept that.”

“And what does the human body do when it decomposes? It breaks down and produces gas. Perfect home for these gas things - they can slip inside and use it as a vehicle. Just like your driver and his coach.”

“Stop it! Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?”

“Not wrong. There's just more to learn.”

“I've always railed against the fantasies. Oh, I loved an illusion as much as the next man, revelled in them - that's what they were. Illusions! The real world is something else. I dedicated myself to that. Injustices. Great social causes. I hoped that I was a force for good. Now you tell me that the real world is a realm of spectres and jack o' lanterns. In which case - have I wasted my brief span here, Doctor? Has it all been for nothing?”

Meanwhile ,Rebecca and Rose had joined Gwyneth in clearing up from tea.

“Please, Misses You shouldn't be helping! It's not right!”

“Don't be daft. Sneed works you to death.”

“How much do you get paid?” Rebecca asked.

“Eight pound a year, miss.”

“That much?” Rose questioned.

“I know. I would've been happy with six.” 

“But eight pounds their money in our time is like a hundred and thirty five pounds. In a year? Granted cost of living has greatly increased but still..” Rebecca shook her head dumbfounded.

“So, did you go to school or what?”

“Of course I did. What do you think I am? An urchin? I went every Sunday. Nice and proper.”

“What - once a week?”

“I went to Sunday School on top of regular school Don’t knock it Rose.”

“We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second.” Gwyneth confessed.

“Me too.” Rose and Gwyneth laughed at that. _Am I the only one who liked school?_

“Don't tell anyone, but one week, I didn't go and ran on the heath all on my own!”

“I did plenty of that. I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen. And we used to go and look at boys!” Rebecca and Rose continued laughing but noticed Gwyneth had stopped and had a scandalized expression on her face.

“Well, I don't know much about that, miss.”

“Come on, times haven't changed that much! I bet you've done the same.”

“I don't think so, miss.”

“Gwyneth! You can tell me! Bet you've got your eye on someone.”

“I suppose. There is one lad...”

“Gwen come on do tell!” Rebecca encouraged.

“The butcher’s boy.” Gwen gushed. “He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him!”

“Oh, I like a nice smile. Good smile, nice bum.”

“Oi Rose does the Doctor have a nice bum then?” Rebecca teased.

 “Shut it you!”

“Well, I have never heard the like!” The three girls just continued laughing.

“What about you Becks? What do you like?”

“Good smile, good sense of humor, intelligent and nice eyes. I’m a sucker for nice eyes and someone I can hold an intelligent conversation with. But anyway Gwen you should make your move!”

“Ask him out! Give him a cup of tea or something, that's a start.”

“I swear, it is the strangest thing, miss. You've got all the clothes and the breeding but you talk like some sort of wild thing!”

“Maybe I am. Maybe that's a good thing. You need a bit more in your life than Mr Sneed.”

“Definitely more to life than old man Sneed.”

“Ah, now that's not fair. He's not so bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to me to take me in. Because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” Both Rebecca and Rose said.

“Thank you, miss. But I'll be with them again, one day. Sitting with them in paradise. I should be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your dad's up there waiting for you too, miss Rose.”

“Maybe.” Rose nodded and Rebecca looked at her confused. “Um, who told you he was dead?”

“I don't know, must've been the Doctor.” She said quickly continuing the washing.

“My father died years back.”

“You've been thinking about him lately, more than ever.”

“I s'pose so... how do you know all this?”

“Mr. Sneed says I think too much. I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you miss.”

“No, no servants where I'm from.”

“And both of you've come such a long way.”

“What makes you think so?”

“You're from London. I've seen London in drawings, but never like that Ms. Rose. You too Ms. Rebecca from across the Sea. New York with all its dazzling lights and strange people. Both New York and London. All those people rushing about. Half naked, for shame. And the noise... and the metal boxes racing past... and the birds in the sky... they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People flying. And you - you've flown so far, further than anyone! The things you've seen... the darkness... the big bad wolf— “ Suddenly realizing what she had said, she began to apologize. “I'm sorry! I'm sorry, miss!”

“Don’t apologize! You have a gift.”

“It’s a curse Ms. Rebecca. I can't help it - ever since I was a little girl. My mum said I had the sight. She told me to hide it!”

“But it's getting stronger. More powerful, is that right?” The three girls jumped when the Doctor came in the doorway.

“All the time, sir. Every night. Voices in my head.’

“You grew up on top of the rift. You're part of it. You're the key.”

“I've tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table wrappers, all sorts.”

“Well, that should help. You can show us what to do.”

“What to do where, sir?”

“We're going to have a séance.”

“That’ll be a new one.” Rebecca mused following the others to the parlor where they arranged themselves in a circle.

“This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists. Down in Mid Town. Come. We must all join hands.” Gwyneth explained.

“I can't take part in this.” Dickens pushed himself away from the table.

“Not this again Charlie!” Rebecca groaned.

“Humbug? Come on, open mind.” The doctor complained.

“This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I try to un-mask. Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing.”

“Now, don't antagonize her. I love a happy medium.”

“I can't believe you just said that.”

“I can’t either Rose. Come on Charlie, we might need you.” Dickens then took a seat beside Rebecca.

“Good man. Now, Gwyneth. Reach out.”

“Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits?” Dickens rolled his eyes, having no patience for this. Rebecca stomped on his foot to get his attention. “Come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden.” With Gwyneth’s eyes raised toward the heavens, a murmuring began to fill the room.

“Can you hear that?”

“Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly.” Dickens spat out.

“ Charlie shut up and look at her.” But suddenly a feeling of discomfort began to spread over her.

“I feel them. I feel them!” Gwyneth cried as the gas creatures began to fill the room.

“Doctor, What're they saying?”

“They can't get through the rift. Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now look deep. Allow them through.

“I can't!”

“Yes you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link.” Gwyneth looked almost pained, she lowered her head in concentration and opened her eyes.

“Doc, I’m getting a really bad feeling about this.” Suddenly three gaseous spirits appeared behind Gwyneth.

“Great God. Sprits from the other side!” Sneed exclaimed.

“The other side of the universe.” The Doctor corrected.

“Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time, help us.” The spirits cried.

“What do you want us to do?”

“The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge.”

“What for?”

“We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction.”

“Why, what happened?”

“Once we had a physical form like you. But then the war came.”

“War? What war?”

“The Time War.” The Doctor, Rebecca and Rose glanced at each other. “The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state.”

“So that's why you need the corpses.”

“We want to stand tall. To feel the sunlight. To live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste, give them to us!”

“But we can't!” Rose cried out.

“Why not?”

“It's not... I mean, it's not...”

“Not decent? Not polite? It could save their lives.”

“Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!”

“Gwyneth!”

“It’s all true.” Dickens said, an expression of shock and awe spread across his face.

“Gwyneth, Are you okay?” Rebecca and Rose asked her but the girl had passed out. The doctor helped them carry her to a couch.

“Rose can you get me a cloth and some water, she’s very clammy.” Rebecca held a hand to the girl’s forehead. Rose quickly returned with the requested items and Rebecca began to wipe the cool rag on Gwyneth’s face who began to stir.

“Shh. It’s alright. You just sleep Gwen.”

“But my angels, miss. They came, didn't they? They need me?” The Doctor who was leaning on a wall with Rose behind them.

“They do need you, Gwyneth. You're they're only chance of survival.”

**“** I've told you, leave her alone. She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles.” Rose said angrily.

“You can’t use her to fight your guilt over the time war Doc.” Rebecca began offering Gwyneth a drink as the Doctor sighed at his two Human companion’s response.

**“** Drink this.”

“Well, what did you say, Doctor? Explain it again. What are they?” Sneed asked still confused.

“Aliens.”

“Like... foreigners, you mean?”

“Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there.” He pointed toward the sky.

“Brecon?” Rebecca had to stifle a giggle at that.

“Close. They've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes.”

**“** Which is why they need the girl.” Dickens concluded.

“They're not having her.” Rose said firmly and Rebecca nodded along side her.

“But she can help. Living on the rift, she's become part of it, she can open it up, make a bridge and let them through.”

“Incredible. Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers.”

“Good system. It might work.”

“Doctor, You can't let them run around inside dead people!”

“Why not? It's like recycling.”

“Seriously though, you can't.”

“Seriously though, I can.”

“You two knock it off! I’m with Rose on this Doc. It feels wrong.

“ It's just... wrong! Those bodies were living people! We should respect them even in death!”

“Do you carry a donor card?”

“That's different, that's—“

**“** It is different, yeah. It's a different morality. Get used to it or go home.”

“Doc, calm down and not everyone carries around a Donor Card. It’s their choice! The Dead don’t have a choice in this!”   
_  
_“Rebecca, You heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying.” He said softer.

“I don't care, they're not using her.” Rose said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest, much like a pouting child.

“Don't I get a say, miss?” Gwyneth questioned. The three looked at her.

“Look. You don't understand what's going on.”

“You would say that miss. Because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid.”

“That's not fair!”

“It's true, though. Things might be very different where you're from. But here and now, I know my own mind. And the angels need me. Doctor, what do I have to do?”

“You don't HAVE to do anything.” The Doctor said in an attempt to appease Rose and Rebecca.

“They've been singing to me since I was a child. Sent by my mum on a holy mission. So tell me.”

“We need to find the rift. This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr. Sneed. What's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?"

“That would be the Morgue.” Sneed replied.

“No chance you were gonna say 'gazebo', was there?” Rose replied disgruntled. Rebecca laughed but was still uneasy about this whole idea. Her gut was telling her to run far away and that whatever these Gelth were saying was a lie. But she trusted the Doctor and that was enough for her to stay where she was.

The group followed Mr. Sneed down to the morgue. He unlocked the  door for them and the Doctor lead the way, Rebecca and Rose at his flanks.  
“Talk about Bleak House.” He muttered.                                                  

“The thing is, Doctor - the Gelth don't succeed.’Cause I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869.”

“Time's in flux. It's changing every second. Your cozy little world could be rewritten like that.” He snapped. _“_ Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing.”

“Doctor - I think the room is getting colder.” Dickens noted as Rebecca began to shiver, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders.

“Here they come.” The Gelth began flooding the room, their leader positioned itself in the archway.

“You have come to help! Praise the Doctor! Praise him!” The childish voice said.

“Promise you won't hurt her!” Rose begged.

“Hurry! Please. So little time. Pity the Gelth.”

“I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?”

“My angels. I can help them live.” Gwyneth smiled at the group, so pleased that she would be able to help them.

“Okay, where's the weak point?”

“Here, beneath the arch.” The Gelth cried. Gwyneth positioned herself beneath the art and Rose rushed beside her.

“You don't have to do this.” Gwyneth shook her head and grasped Rose’s face gently.

_“_ My angels.” Rose then staggered back toward Rebecca who stood shaking her head.

“This feels so wrong to me.

_“_ Establish the bridge, reach out of the void, let us through!”

“Yes. I can see you! I can see you! Come!”

“Bridgehead establishing.”

“Come! Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls!” Gwyneth was begging them.

“It is begun! The bridge is made!” The Gelth began to pour out of Gwyneth’s mouth much like they did from the old woman in the theater, blue gas filling the air.

“She has given herself to the Gelth!”

“There's rather a lot of them, eh?” Dickens muttered.

“What an astute observation Charlie.” Rebecca said, the anxiety she had increasing every second.

“The bridge is open. We descend.” Suddenly the gas turned from blue to red, becoming more and more demonic.”

“Shit.” Rebecca muttered. She knew this was a bad idea.

“The Gelth will come through in force.”

“You said that you were  _few_  in number!” Dickens cried out.

“A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses.” The bodies of the dead in the morgue began to rise. Sneed ran to Gwyneth begging her to stop.

“Gwyneth... stop this! Listen to your master! This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, leave these things alone. I beg of you— “

“Mr. Sneed! Get back!” Rose cried as a corpse tried and successfully grabbed him from behind, a Gelth filling his body through his mouth. Rebecca and Rose leapt back away from him toward the doctor.

“I think it's gone a little bit wrong.”

“Really Doc? D’Ya think?” Rebecca asked sarcastically backing up some more.

“I have joined the legions of the Gelth.” Sneed called out. “Come. March with us.”

“Eh. Not in the mood.” Rebecca told them as the corpses began marching toward them even more so.

“We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead.” The trio were now had their backs against a dungeon door.

“Gwyneth, stop them! Send them back! Now!”

“Four more bodies. Make them vessels for the Gelth.”

“I-- I can't! I'm sorry! It’s too much for me I’m so---“ Charles had run from the Morgue as one of the Gelth screeched and swooped down on him.

“DAMN IT CHARLIE!” The Doctor meanwhile pulled opened the dungeon door and pushed the two girls inside following them and locking themselves in there.

“Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth.”

“Not a chance in hell.” Rebecca glowered at them. Backing her into a corner was not their best idea.

“I trusted you. I pitied you!”

“We don't want your pity! We want this world and all its flesh.” The Bodies began to rattle door.

“Not while I'm alive.”

“Then live no more.” The three of them flattened themselves against the dungeon walls as the Gelth.

“But I can't die.” Rose looked at the Doctor for reassurance. “Tell me I can't! I haven't even been born yet, it's impossible for me to die! Isn't it?!”

“I'm sorry.”

“But it's 1869, how can I die now?”

“Time isn't a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the 20th century and die in the 19th and it's all my fault. I brought you two here.”

“It's not your fault. I wanted to come.”

“Agreed not your fault. And you mean to tell me that Time isn’t linear?”

“Not now Becks. Bigger problems such as the Gelth.” Rose chided.

“What about me? I saw the fall of Troy! World War Five! I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party, now I'm going to die in a dungeon! In Cardiff!” The Doctor said horrified.

“It's not just dying. We'll become one of them.”

“We'll go down fighting, yeah?” Rebecca said.

“Yeah.” The Doctor agreed.

“Together?” Rose offered the Doctor her hand.

He grasped it. “Yeah! I'm so glad I met you.”

“Me too.”

“Hate to ruin the love fest but I think Charlie here has an idea.”

“Doctor! Turn OFF the flame, turn UP the gas! Now fill the room, all of it, now!”

“What're you doing?”

“Turn it all on! Gas the place!” Charles continued to turn on another gas valve.

“Brilliant. Gas!”

“What, so we choke to death instead?”

“Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous!”

“Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!”

“CHARLIE WATCH OUT!” The corpses had all decided to turn on Charles instead of them but it was giving Rebecca a chance to escape the dungeon and turn on more gas valves.

“I hope... oh, Lord. I hope that this theory will be validated soon. If not immediately.”

“I’m on it Charlie. Doc get the canister by you.”

“Plenty more!” He smashed a gas canister against the wall and the Gelth were being sucked from the bodies, screaming for mercy.

“It's working.”

“Gwyneth! Send them back! They lied, they're not angels.”

“Liars.”

“Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!”

“Can't breathe.” Rose croaked out, choking. Immediately, Rebecca lifted her cloak to Rose’s mouth in an attempt to filter some of the gas out.

“Charles, get them out of here.” Dickens went to grab Rose when she fought him off.

“I'm not leaving her!”

“They're too strong.” Gwyneth cried out.

“Gwen you can do this.” Rebecca encouraged.

“Remember that world you saw? Rose and Rebecca’s world? All those people - none of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift.”

“I can't send them back. But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out.” She pulled a box of matches out of her pocket.

“NO! Gwen you can’t!”

“Leave this place!” Gwyneth commanded.

“Rebecca and Rose, get out, go now, I won't leave her while she's still in danger, now go!” Charles pulled the two girls with him out of the Morgue, Rebecca kept glancing back at the Doctor and Gwyneth in silent prayer they would be safe.

“Now give that to me.” The Doctor held out his hand for the matches but Gwyneth didn’t respond. He placed his hand on Gwyneth’s neck trying to feel for a pulse but there was none. His face fell.

“I'm sorry. Thank you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and ran like hell out of the house. As he dove out the door the house went up in flames. Rebecca rushed over to the Doctor to see if he was alright when it hit her that he was alone.

“Doc, where’s Gwyneth?”

“She didn't make it?”

“I'm sorry. She closed the rift.”

“At such a cost. The poor child.” Charles said giving Rebecca’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. Rose was still looking at the Doctor, her eyes forlorn.

_“_ I did try, Rose, but Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch.”

“But... she can't have, she spoke to us. She helped us - she saved us. How could she have done that?”

“A Miracle.” Rebecca squeezed Rose’s hand.

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Even for you, Doctor.” Charles said.

“She saved the world. A servant girl. No one will ever know.” The four stared at the burning house before walking back to the Tardis.

“Right then, Charlie-boy, I've just got to go into my um... shed. Won't be long!” The Doctor unlocked the door to the Tardis and walked in with Rose while Rebecca stood outside with Charles.

“What're you going to do now?”

“I shall take the mail coach back to London. Quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital.”

“You've cheered up!”

“Exceedingly! This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world and now I know I've just started! All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor! I'm inspired. I must write about them! “

“Charlie, Do you think that's wise?”

“I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word! Tell the truth!” The Doctor came out and began his farewell.

“Good luck with it. Nice to meet you. Fantastic.” He shook the man’s hand and re-entered the Tardis.

“Bye, then. And, thanks.” Rose said following him.

“It has been an extreme pleasure meeting you Mr. Dickens.” Rebecca hugged the elder man and pecked a kiss on his cheek.

“Oh, my dear-- how modern. Thank you, but, I don't understand - in what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?”

“You'll see. In the shed.” Rebecca said pushing opening the door to reveal the Doctor waving at him.

“Oh, my soul. Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this - who are you?”

“Just a friend. Passing through.”

“But you have such knowledge of future times. I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor - do they last?”

“Oh, yes!”

“Most definitely!” Rebecca agreed.

“For how long?”

“Forever! Right come on Rose and Rebecca.

“In - in the box? Three of you?”

“Down boy. See ya!”

“Doesn't that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?” Rose asked once the door closed.

“In a weeks time it's 1870, and that's the year he dies. Sorry. He'll never get to tell his story.”

“Oh, no! He was so nice.” She said.

“He was only 58 too.” Rebecca added softly.

“But in your time, he was already dead! We've brought him back to life! He's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie-boy. Let's give him one last surprise.” The Tardis began to dematerialize before Dickens eyes and they watched him smile brightly.

“First things first, can we please get out of these Corsets?” Rose groaned.

“Agreed.”

“Rebecca I want to check on your head from before when you’re changed.. That was a pretty hard blow.”

“Doc, my vision is fine now. It hurts like hell but I’m pretty sure I don’t have a concussion.”

“For my sake Rebecca?”

“Fine. Give me a few!” she said rushing off with Rose to the wardrobe where they helped each other out of the corsets.

“What happened to your head?”

“I tried to get Sneed off of you and he knocked me out.” Rebecca shrugged.

“Ouch. Y’alright?”

“I’m fine. Doc just worries too much.”

“No, I don’t. You could have a concussion. Y’done yet?” he called from outside the door.

“Yeah hold on.” She ran out and followed him to the medical bay and sat on the table. He started performing scans on her head.

“Doc, who was that man who helped me up?”

“Dunno.”

“He said 'find Rose.'”

“You’re probably just hearing things he left as soon as he saw an angry timelord approaching him but its just bruising. Take some aspirin. You’ll feel better.”

“Can’t. I’m allergic.” He gave her a puzzled look.

“Yeah I know weird. But I took aspirin as a kid and went into anaphylactic shock.”

“Timelords are allergic to Aspirin as well.”

“We’re not so different you and me.” Rebecca said.

“We’re not the same Rebecca. Be glad of it.”

“I know how you think though. You took Rose and me to platform one to watch the Earth burn because you watched yours burn. You wanted us to know what it was like. It was a test to see if we we’re strong enough to handle it all.” He stared agape at her.

“It’s a dark thought doctor but I can see the horrors of your past in your eyes. Just know that despite the darkness I see all the good and the light and the hope. You’re not alone. Remember. Goodnight Doctor I’m gonna go put away my autograph and have a cup of tea. I’ll be in the library if you want to talk some more.” She left him staring at her and headed to the kitchen hoping he’d confide in her some of his past.

But he didn’t come. She waited for an hour but figured that he wasn’t coming so she sat down with a sketch pad and began drawing the face of the man who helped her up. She remembered his dark hair and his chiseled features but the eyes just weren’t coming out right. She stared at it just trying to get them perfect, the light orbs, blue or gray? She couldn’t remember but something about him felt right and that was something she wanted to feel again.

 


	6. Aliens of London

"Good morning Doc! I need to make a stop in London." Rebecca said bouncing into the console room with two steaming mugs of tea, one of which she handed to the Doctor. She wanted to pick up some books to get Rose back on par to take her A-levels. But the Doctor didn't have to know that.

"Why?"

"I need to visit a book store and it has to be in the UK."

"No, we're not stopping in London just so you can own both the American and the British versions of Harry Potter." Rebecca huffed at that remark.

"Not what I was gonna do but now that you mention it, I might do that. No, I just need a book for something Rose and I are working on." The Doctor gave her a questioning look.

"Nothing bad I promise! It's just between us girls." He shrugged at the comment.

"Fine. Rose mentioned visiting her mum anyway we can stop at a bookstore."

"We're visiting my mum?" Rose said popping in with her own pink mug of tea.

"Yep!" The Doctor then set the coordinates for the Powell estates and they soon landed a block away from Rose's flat.

"How long have I been gone?" Rose asked as she and the Doctor exited the TARDIS.

"About 12 hours."

"Oooh! Right, I won't be long, I'm just gonna see my mum."

"What're you going to tell her?"

"I don't know! I've been to the year 5 billion... and only been gone, what, 12 hours?" The Doctor laughed.

"No, I'll just tell her I've spent the night at Shareen’s. See you later! Oh - don't you disappear."

The Doctor gave her a look that said "As if I would." He watched as Rose ran up the steps to her flat with a grin on her face.

"Rebecca got a book store address?"

"Yep!" she called from the TARDIS. She took a look at the screen and noticed the date.

"Doc! Get Rose Now!" she ran out of the TARDISand started screaming Rose's name but it was too late.

"What're you screaming about?" The Doctor asked her. Rebecca stopped and tore a poster from a lamppost handing it to the Doctor.

"It hasn't been 12 hours. It's been 12 months." She informed him and then the two ran toward Rose's flat. Meanwhile Rose was already in her flat.

"I'm back! It was Shareen. She was all upset again. Are you in?" Her mother came out holding a cup of tea. "So, what's been going on? How've you been? What? What's that face for? It's not the first time I've stayed out all night." That was when her mother dropped her cup of tea.

"It's you."

"Of course it's me!"

"Oh, my God. It's you. Oh my God." Her mother cried out getting misty eyed, pulling her into a hug.

"It's not 12 hours, it's er... 12 months. You've been gone a whole year." The doctor laughed awkwardly as the two Tyler women stared at him stunned. "Sorry ‘bout that." Rebecca cautiously entered the room behind the doctor afraid of the impending explosion that would be Jackie Tyler.

"Tea anyone?" she questioned.

"Yeah that would be nice while I PHONE THE POLICE!" Jackie yelled. Rebecca just found her way to the kitchen and put on a kettle figuring that would be best. Rebecca soon returned with four steaming mugs of tea. When the constable came she offered him a cup of tea as well and returned to her spot beside the Doctor with her tea.

"The hours I've sat here. Days and weeks and months all on my own. I thought you were dead. And where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that mean? Travelling? That's no sort of answer." Jackie yelled. "You ask her. She won't tell me! That's all she says. Travelling." She gestured to the constable.

"That's what I was doing."

"When your passport's still in the drawer? It's just one lie after another!"

"I meant to phone, I really did, I just... I forgot."

"What, for a year? You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here? I just don't believe you. Why won't you tell me where you've been?" Rebecca then leaned over to the Doctor and began to whisper in his ear.

"This is your fault. Fix it!"

"Actually, it's my fault. I sort of er, employed Rose as my companion."

"When you say 'companion', is this a sexual relationship?" The constable asked.

Both the Doctor and Rose yelled "No!" in unison. That seemed to piss off Jackie even more.

"Then what is it? Because you, you waltz in here all charms and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the earth! How old are you then? 40? 45? What, you find her on the Internet? Did you do it with the girl over there too? Did you kidnap her too?"

"He didn't kidnap me Mrs. Tyler. I left with him on my own accord and so did Rose. He's a good man." Jackie brushed her off.

"Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?""

"I AM a Doctor!"

"Prove it! Stitch this, mate." She slapped him hard across the face and he let out a groan. Rebecca gasped and covered her mouth. Rose sat there rolling her eyes at him. The constable quickly finished up his report and left them.

"We'll leave you two alone for a bit. Rose we'll be on the roof." Rebecca told them dragging the Doctor up behind her.

"Of all the points to argue you had to say that you were a doctor? Really? Really?" Rebecca argued with him.

"But I am a Doctor!"

"Tact! You need some of it! And don't leave me hanging for conversations like you did last night. I'm still mad."

"Is it pick on the Doctor Day?"

"No but slap the Doctor day doesn't sound half bad!" He cowered slightly away from the girl who just laughed.

"If you ever meet my mom, and let’s pray you don't have to, she'd probably hug you for keeping me away for so long." Rebecca told him, she met his confused gaze.

"We don't exactly… get along." She confessed.

Meanwhile, Rose was hugging her mom in tears in the kitchen.

"Did you think about me at all?"

"I did! All the time! But..."

"One phone call. Just to know that you were alive!"

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"Do you know what terrifies me, is that you still can't say. What happened to you, Rose? What could be so bad that you can't tell me, sweetheart? Where were you?" But Rose couldn't answer. What was she supposed to say?

"I'm gonna go check on them." She climbed up to the roof and met the pair.

"I can't tell her. I can't even begin... she's never gonna forgive me. And I missed a year? Was it good?"

"Middling."

"How do you rate years?" Rebecca asked.

"Lots of things"

"You're so useless." Rose told him.

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you gonna stay here now?" He was hoping that answer would be a no, wanting her to stay on the Tardis.

"I dunno. I can't do that to her again, though."

"Well, she's not coming with us." The trio burst out laughing.

"No chance." Rose smiled.

"I don't do families."

"Too Domestic?" Rebecca teased.

"She slapped you!" Rose laughed.

"900 years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother."

"Your face."

"It hurt!"

"You're such a pansy." The doctor rubbed his face, offended by Rose calling him weak.

"Wait Doc, when you say 900 years you mean what exactly?"

"That's my age."

"You're nine hundred years old." Rebecca deadpanned.

"Yeah."

"My mum was right - that is one hell of an age gap." Rose hopped off the wall

"Every conversation with you just goes mental. There's no one else I can talk to. I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and I can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things, and we're the only people on planet earth who know they exist." Suddenly Rebecca looked up and saw something falling from the sky. A spaceship was hurtling toward and hitting Big Ben before crash landing in the Thames.

"Oh, that's just not fair. Now the whole world knows." The doctor laughed at her and grabbed Rose's hand pulling her off toward the action with Rebecca trotting along behind them. When they reached the streets, it was complete and utter mayhem, people everywhere.

"It's blocked off." Rebecca said climbing up the side of a building trying to get a better look. "We're miles from the center. The scene must be grid locked. The whole of London must be closing down."

"I know, I can't BELIEVE I'm here to see this! This is fantastic!"

"Did you know this was going to happen?"

"Nope! Rebecca wanted to pop in for a book!"

"Do you recognize the ship?"

"Nope!"

"Do you know why it crashed?"

"Nope!"

"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you." Rebecca giggled at that.

"I bet you are! This is what I travel for, Rose! To see history happening right in front of us."

"Well, let's go and see it! Never mind the traffic, we've got the TARDIS!" Rose said happily making her way towards the big blue box.

"Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London, don't want to shove another one on top."

"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box. No one's going to notice."

"You'll be surprised, an emergency like this - there'll be all kinds of people watching. Trust me, the TARDIS stays where it is." Rebecca and Rose both looked disgruntled.

"So, history's happening and we're stuck here."

"Yes, we are."

"We could always do what everybody else does."

"Watch it on TV?" Rebecca questioned.

"Exactly!" The Doctor looked at the two girls like this was the most brilliant idea he had ever heard.

"FANTASTIC!" The two girls rolled their eyes and walked down to Rose's sitting room and plopped down into her sofa and armchairs.

"Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control wide-spread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene." A news reporter said.

"The police urge the public not to panic. There's a help line number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family." Rebecca flipped the station to an American News Station.

"The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American air space have been grounded."

"That's all they care about. Their travel plans." The Doctor scoffed flipping the news back.

"The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship. No one knows what they're going to find." Rebecca stole the remote back from him and flipped the channel back.

"The President will address the nation live from the White House. But the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies." Jackie Tyler handed Rose a cup of tea while talking to her friend who was shooting the Doctor and Rebecca looks of disgust.

Jackie comes in to give Rose a cup of tea.

"I've got no choice! Either I make them welcome, or I run the risk of never seeing her again!" she and her friend babbled angrily.

"Oi! I'm trying to listen!"

"... his current whereabouts. News is just coming in, we can go to Tom at the embankments."

"They've found a body." The Reporter said. Rebecca and the Doctor gave each other a look. **  
** "It's unconfirmed but I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore." Jackie came in with a few more people and began pouring wine.

"Oh, guess who asked me out - Billy Crewe." She told Rose who just gave her a small smile. The Doctor shook his head trying to tune out the chatter of the people in the room.

"Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary. The whereabouts is yet unknown." A Toddler had crawled onto the Doctor's lap and caused the TV channel to change a few times settling on a cooking show that was making spaceship cakes. Rebecca couldn't hold back her laughter.

"And when you've stuck your things on, you can cover the whole lot... Ooo, look at that. Then, ice it, any color you want - here's one I made a little bit earlier - look at that. Your very own spaceship ready to eat. And there's something a little extra special—" The Doctor wrestled the remote away from the Toddler and changed it back to the News.

"We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything. But the body has been brought here, Albian Hospital, the roads closed off - it's the closest to the river." The little boy hopped off the Doctors lap and stood in front of the TV. The Doctor was getting frustrated so Rebecca tried to intercede.

"Sweetheart, you're not invisible. The Doctor and I need to know what is happening. Why don't you go see if Jackie has any paper for you to draw on?" The toddler wandered off and the Doctor shot Rebecca a grateful look.

"I'm being told that... General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body. Contained inside those walls..."

"Fancy a trip?" the Doctor asked.

"Thought you'd never ask." Rebecca piped in hopping up and exiting the apartment. "Nobody will even notice we're gone." The two of them slipped out the back door of the apartment with Rose silently following behind them.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Nowhere! It's just a bit human in there for me. History just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top up cards for half price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."

"And you Rebecca? Why are you leaving?"

"I want to go to a book store for our project!" she pointed out.

"Right - there's a spaceship on the Thames and you're just 'wandering' off to a book shop."

"Nothing to do with me! It's not an invasion! That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, color of smoke, everything! It's perfect!"

"Almost too perfect." Rebecca pointed out.

"So..."

"So maybe this is it! First contact! The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. I'm not interfering because you've GOT to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay! Now you can expand!" The Doctor laughed and his two companions smiled. "You don't need me - go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum." The pair began walking away.

"Promise you won't disappear?"

"As if we could leave you behind." Rebecca smiled at the blonde. The doctor however had begun to feel around his jacket pocket pulling out two necklaces.

"Tell you what - TARDIS keys on unbreakable chains so you can't lose them. About time you two had them." He smiled and then began walking back to the Tardis.

"Doctor?"

"Yes Rose?"

"Put it on me?" she questioned with one of her famous tongue in teeth grins. How could he refuse?

"Of course." He came up behind her and clasped the chain around her neck, gently removing any of the stray blonde hairs that were stuck near the chain.

"I'll see you later." He promised and waved Rebecca on to follow him and she grinned like mad following him to the Tardis.

"Not too domestic?" She teased.

"Oh Shut it!" He plugged the coordinates into the Tardis and she began to smoke. He started hitting the console with a hammer.

"She doesn't appreciate that Doc! Be gentler." Rebecca chided. He rolled his eyes at her and kissed the hammer and with a grin he began hitting it again and she worked.

"Why she still works for you, I'll never understand…" Rebecca muttered under her breath. She then tuned the Tardis console to see the news again.

"Doc, the prime minister is missing."

"Probably not that important. We'll deal with it later. Let's take a look at the body." He got out and found himself in a small store room and he turned on the Sonic Screwdriver which of course in the empty room was loud. He shushed it before continuing making his way to the door. He unlocked the door and opened It to find twenty soldiers laughing away, suddenly going silent and grabbing their guns, pointing them at the Doctor.

"Hello fellas'" Rebecca pushed the Doctor aside. A few of them lowered their guns at the sight of the young woman until they all heard a scream. Rebecca turned automatically and started running toward it. The doctor issued his orders before following them.

"Defense Part Delta! Come on! Move! Move." They ran down the corridor to find a young Asian woman on the floor cowering.  
**  
** "It's alive!" She cried out. Rebecca crouched down beside her.

"Shh it's okay. What's your name?"

"Toshiko Sato. Everyone calls me Tosh."

"Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lock down." The Doctor ordered.

"My God - it's still alive." Tosh said. The men stared at them.

"DO IT!" Rebecca bellowed turning her attention to Tosh who was bleeding from her hairline.

"I swear it was dead."

"Coma - shock - hibernation - anything. What does it look like?" But Tosh was unable to answer as both the Doctor and Rebecca heard a noise from behind them.

"Doc, It's still here." The Doctor stood up and beckoned another soldier into the room. Rebecca quickly followed him as he dropped to his knees to peer behind a desk where he was met with a pig.

"Hello!" The Pig squealed in terror and ran across the room. The soldiers readied their guns aiming at the creature.

"Don't shoot!" Rebecca begged them. But it was too late, as the pig ran down the hallway a soldier shot it.

"What did you do that for? It was scared!" Rebecca yelled at them. She crouched down beside it, and began stroking it and humming a lullaby to it, as it died in her arms. The Doctor looked at her and saw her in all her humanity and agreed with her the pig was just scared. The Doctor then ordered two soldiers to bring the pig to the morgue for further examination.

"I just assumed that's what alien's look like. But you're saying it's an ordinary pig? From Earth?" Dr. Sato asked.

"More like a mermaid. Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat and gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now, someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on... then they strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It must've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke." The doctor then decide to make his escape grabbing Rebecca the two silently snuck off.

"So it's a fake. A pretend. Like the mermaid. But the technology augmenting its brain... it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens. But why would they do that...?" Tosh turned to see the Doctor had vanished.

Back at Powell Estates, Rose's sitting room was extremely crowded as Jackie raised her wine glass in a toast.

"Here's to the Martians!"

"The Martians!" Everyone cried out cheering. Suddenly Mickey appeared in the doorway and the room fell silent. Rose looked up and saw him there and walked up to him.

"I was gonna come and see you." She swore.

"Someone owes Mickey an apology."

"I'm sorry." Rose said meekly as he continued to stare at her.

"Not you." The woman said giving a look to Jackie.

"It's not my fault. Be fair. What was I supposed to think?" The three of them then went into the kitchen to continue their discussion.

"You disappear - who do they turn to? Your boyfriend. Five times, I was taken in for questioning. Five times. No evidence, of course there couldn't be, could there. And then I get her - your mother. Whispering around the estate - pointing the finger - stuff through my letterbox - and all 'cos of you."

"I didn't think I'd be gone so long."

"And I waiting for you, Rose! Twelve months. Waiting for you, Rebecca and the Doctor to come back. "

"Hold on, you knew about the Doctor? Why didn't you tell me?" Jackie exclaimed. Mickey noticed someone eaves dropping and slammed the door shut to keep them out.

"Yeah, yeah. Why not, Rose? Huh? How could I tell her where you went? "

"Tell me now."

"I might as well, 'cos you're stuck here. The Doctor's gone. Just now, that box thing just faded away."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked him. No they wouldn't have left her.

"He's left you. He swanned off with that Rebecca chick. Seems like he'd rather be with her than you. Some boyfriend he turned out to be." Rose grabbed a jacket from the back of the door running out of the kitchen back towards where they had parked the Tardis. Mickey followed her.

"He wouldn't just go, he promised me. Both of them did."

"Oh, he's dumped you, Rose. Sailed off into space with that Rebecca Chick. Leaving you alone. How does it feel, huh? Now you are left behind with the rest of us Earthlings. Get used to it. "

"But he would have said." Rose looked wistfully at where the Tardis had been.

"What're you two chimps going on about? What's going on? What's this Doctor done now? "Jackie asked .Mickey chortled.

"He's vamoosed!"

"He's not! 'Cos he gave me this!" She pulled the Tardis key out of her blouse and showed him **)**  
"He's not my boyfriend, Mickey, he's better than that. He's much more important than—" her voice trailed off as her Tardis key started to glow in time with the sound of the Tardis rematerializing.

"I said so." She turned to her mother. "Mum! Mum, go inside. Mum, don't stand there, just go inside. Just- mum, go—" But her mother stared, transfixed at where the Tardis had rematerialized.

"Uh?"

"How'd you do that, then?" Rose gave her mother a wary look before entering the Tardis.

"Alright, so I lied! I went and had a look, but the whole crash landing's a fake - I thought so, it's just too perfect. I mean, 'hitting Big Ben' come on, so I thought let's go and have a look—"

"My mother's here." And instantly the Doctor's face paled.

"Hello Jackie! Oh and look who else decided to show up!" Rebecca greeted them as she stripped off her leather jacket trying to clean off the blood of the pig alien.

"Oh, that's JUST what I need. Don't you dare make this place domestic!"

"You ruined my life, Doctor. They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you." The Doctor was now face to face with Mickey and then turned to Rose, simply annoyed by the young man's presence.

"See what I mean? Domestic." He returned his attention to the computer screen where Rebecca had sat down and was recreating the alien's ship descent pattern.

"I bet you don't even remember my name!"

"Ricky."

"Mickey. Like the Mouse." Rebecca corrected.

"Just Mickey." Mickey sent her a glare.

"No, it's Ricky."

"I think I know my own name."

"You THINK you know your own name? How stupid are you?"

"Being Rude again Doc," Rebecca chided as she typed more information into the Tardis' console computer. Jackie who had been looking around bewildered for a few moments now decided she had had enough and ran outside.

"Mum, don't!" Rose cried out after her. "You two don't go anywhere and Micks Don't start a fight please." Rebecca watched the girl run out of the Tardis.

"GO AFTER HER YOU IDIOT!" Rebecca scolded as she watched the Doctor run toward the doors of the Tardis.

"Mum, it's not like that! He's not- I'll be up in a minute, hold on!" Rose ran smack into the Doctor letting out an 'oof', tumbling backwards before the Doctor caught her.

"Sorry, you alright?" He asked checking her over. She gave him a smile and nodded, following him back to the console behind Rebecca.

"Fine, so that was a real spaceship?" she asked.

"Yep!"

"So, it's all a pack of lies? What is it then, are they invading?" Mickey peered from behind Rose's shoulder.

"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert."

"Good point! So, what're they up to?" Suddenly the Tardis console went blank.

"Doc, what did you do?"

"Nothing! I swear!"

"Fix it!" The Doctor rolled his eyes and wedged himself under the Tardis console and began fiddling with some wiring.

"So, what're you doing down there?" Mickey asked bending down beside the Doctor.

"Ricky," he said voice slightly muffled by the sonic screwdriver in his mouth.

"Mickey."

"Ricky, if I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

"I suppose not..."

"Shut it, then." Mickey gave him the evil eye and moved back to Rose who stood off toward the corner.

"Some friend you've got."

"He's winding you up." Mickey didn't answer, still upset. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I am, though!"

"Every day, I looked. On every street corner, wherever I went, looking for a blue box for a whole year." Rebecca rolled her eyes listening to this. What was Mickey trying to prove? That he was a love sick puppy?

"It's only been a few days for me. I don't know, it's... it's hard to tell inside this thing but I swear it's just a few days since I left you."

"Not enough time to miss me, then?"

"I did miss you."

"I missed you." Mickey said smiling at her. Rebecca made a gagging gesture in the background getting annoyed by the love sick boy aboard the Tardis.

"So, erm... in twelve months, have you been seeing anyone else?"

"No. "

"Kay..."

"Mainly because everyone thinks I murdered you." Rebecca stifled a laugh.

"Right."

"So... now that you've come back... are you gonna stay?" Rebecca saw Mickey leaning in to kiss Rose and Rebecca would not have any of that. She found an unplugged wire and plugged it in, causing the Tardis console to spark and break the pair apart. But the monitor began to work again.

"Got it Doc! The Monitor got unplugged!"

"I told you I didn't do anything!" The Doctor got up and put himself between Rose and Mickey behind Rebecca.

"So if we patch, in the radar, loop it back twelve hours we can follow the flight of the spaceship, here we go... hold on..." Rebecca said as she pounded on the keyboard a bit more. The doctor whacked the monitor and it unfroze and he began pointing at the Spaceship on the screen.  
_  
_ "That's the spaceship on its way to Earth... see? Except... hold on... see, the spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed. "

"Its origin is Earth?"

"Doctor what does this mean?"

"It means it came from Earth in the first place - it went up and came back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived. They've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?"

"Could they be infiltrating the Earth before making their strike?" Rebecca mused.

"Could be. Switch on the news."

"How many channels do you get?" Mickey asked

"All the basic packages."

"You get sports channels?"

"Yes, I get the football."

"Priorities Mickey Mouse. You're on a space ship and you're asking about Cable TV"

"Wait Rebecca go back. Hold a tic." He told her as she flipped back to a news channel. "I know that bloke."  
**  
** "It is looking likely that the government is bringing in alien specialists - those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space."

"UNIT! United Nations Intelligence Task force - good people."

"How do you know them?" Rose questioned.

"'Cos he's worked for them. Yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet... and in the history books, and there's his name. Followed by a list of the dead."

"That's nice. Good boy, Ricky."

"If you know them, why don't you go and help?"

"They wouldn't recognize me. I've changed a lot since the old days. Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover... and eh, better keep the TARDIS out of site. Rickey! You've got a car - you can do some driving."

"Where to?!"

"The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at that spaceship." Suddenly the sound of helicopters overhead, increased in volume.

"Doc, don't know about you but that doesn't sound right to me."

"It’s just increased press coverage I'm sure." Rose reasoned. But as they stepped outside the Tardis, the four were assaulted by lights and sirens.

"Do not move!" a voice called out to them over a megaphone. Police cars and soldiers surrounded them. Mickey made a run for it and Rebecca just rolled her eyes.

"Of course Mickey runs for it."

"Normal reaction!" argued Rose.

"Not if you haven't done anything wrong!" Jackie watched from the sidelines and went to run towards Rose but was restrained by two soldiers.

"Raise your hands above your head! You are under arrest!" The three of them obeyed instantaneously.

"Take me to your leader!" The Doctor said with a smile as they were escorted to a vehicle.

"How long have you been waiting to say that?"

"Long enough. Ladies first." Rebecca scooted all the way to the side of the car, followed by Rose and then the doctor. Surprisingly there was lots of room in the car.

"This is a bit posh. If I knew it was gonna be like this - being arrested - I'd have done it years ago."

"Yeah, really Doc. I mean no handcuffs or anything. Seems kind of odd for an arrest."

"We're not being arrested, we're being escorted!"

"Where to?"

"Where'd you think? Downing Street!" The Doctor began to laugh.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not!"

"10 Downing Street?"

"That's the one!"

"Hold on, 10 Downing street as in where the Prime Minister's office and the Lord of Treasury's Office is located?" Rebecca asked.

"The one and only!"

"Oh, my God! We're going to 10 Downing Street!" Rebecca cheered laughing with Rose.

"How come?"

"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right. Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, uh - noticed."

"Now they need you?"

"Like it said on the news - they're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?" The Doctor grinned at the pair expecting an obvious answer.

"Patrick Moore?" Rose teased.

"Apart from him!"

"Roger Leir?" Rebecca played along.

"Who?"

"Author of the Alien Scalpel. He claims that he's been removing alien implants from people’s feet."

"That bull won't last. Who's the prime minister now?"

"How should I know? I missed a year."

"My bet's on Tony Blair again. He was high in popularity last time I checked."

"Eh not a bad man and look we're here!" The doctor smiled as they pulled up and got out of the car. He waved at all of the paparazzi and all the military there while Rebecca and Rose nervously followed behind him into a room filled with lots of people.

"Doc, I know now isn't a good time but I'm not gonna be arrested by immigration or anything because I don't have my passport, right?"

"Rebecca, Aliens have crash landed in London. I doubt they care that you're here."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, could we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right and can I remind you, ID cards are to be worn at all times." A young man approached the Doctor with a card in hand.

 _"_ Here's your ID card sir. I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."

"I don't go anywhere without 'em."

"For good reason. He usually nearly winds up getting himself killed." The Doctor shot Rebecca a glare from her comment to which she shot back an innocent smile.

"Regardless miss, he's the code nine. You two aren't. I'm sorry Doctor, they'll have to stay outside."

"They're staying with me."

"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let them in and that's a fact."

"It's alright, you go. I'll be touristy." Rebecca told them despite desperately wanting to attend the meeting. A middle aged woman appeared behind her.

"Excuse me? Are you the Doctor? "The woman sounded slightly frantic.

"Not now, we're busy - can't you go home?"

"Are you sure you two will be alright?"

"Yeah, they're the experts, you should hear what they've got to say." Rose reasoned.

"I s'pose so. Don't get into any trouble."

"Look who's talking. Trouble magnet!" she teased. He gave her a quick smile before following the rest of the experts into the conference room.

"I just need a word in private." The woman begged. Rebecca's eyes locked with the woman and she made a gesture with her head toward the door.

"You haven't got clearance, now leave it! You two have to be left with Security." The young man said.

"It's alright. I'll look after them. Let me be of some use." Rebecca was instantly at the woman's side and Rose followed suit.

 _"_ Walk with me. Just keep walking...That's right... don't look round! Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North."

"Miss Jones what's wrong?" Rebecca pulled them into a room off to the side.

This friend of yours... he's an expert, is that right? He knows about aliens?"

"Why do you wanna know?" Harriet broke down into tears and clutched onto Rebecca who tried to comfort her.

"Shh… It's okay Harriet. We'll figure this out."

"They turned the body into a suit! A disguise for the thing inside!" She cried once more. Rebecca shot Rose a pleading look.

"It's alright! I believe you. It's... its alien. They must have some SERIOUS technology behind this... if we could find it...we could use it." She started rummaging around and was quickly joined by Harriet and Rebecca. When she opened a cupboard, a body fell out. Rebecca was instantly beside it, feeling for a pulse.

"Oh, my God! Is that-?"

"Harriet, for God's sake! This has gone beyond a joke - you cannot just wander- Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister!"

"No pulse, his body is cold. He must've been dead for a few hours now." Rebecca said sadly. She folded his hands in front of me and said a short prayer over the body, wondering how the Doctor was fairing. Her thoughts were interrupted by a laugh. She looked up to see another woman standing over her.

"Has someone been naughty?"

"That's impossible! He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!"

"And who told you that Indra? Hmm… ME." She pushed back the blonde hair from her forehead and began to unzip the skin from her body to reveal a horribly ugly green massive alien with a baby face and large claws. Instantly the alien was after Rebecca who was vulnerable on the floor beside the body.

"You leave her alone!" The man, Indra, called out distracting the creature. But the creature pushed him to the wall pressing against his throat.

"RUN!" Rebecca screamed at them pulling her pocket knife out and wincing as she just nicked the creatures arm causing it to relinquish her grip on Indra. Rebecca quickly grabbed his hand and helped him up running out of the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to have your attention please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine occupant—" General Asquith began but was quickly interrupted by the Doctor.

"Now, the REALLYinteresting bit happened three days ago, see, filed away under every other business. The North Sea - the satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at one hundred fathoms like there was something down there... you were just about to investigate and the next thing you know, this happens - spaceships, pigs - massive diversion - from what? If aliens fake an alien crash and an alien pilot, what do they get?" he paused for a moment to ponder the answer and upon his discovery paled.  
_  
_ "Us. They get us. It's not a diversion, it's a trap."

"This is all about us. Alien experts - the only people with knowledge how to fight them gathered together in one room." Suddenly Joseph Green, the newly instated prime Minister farted. The

"Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?"

"Would you rather silent but deadly?" Joseph Green as well as General Asquith laughed at the punch line while the rest of the experts in the room stared at them, slightly transfixed. General Asquith removed his hat and then unzipped his skin suit to reveal himself.

"We are the Slitheen. Thank you all for wearing your ID cards. They'll help identify your bodies." Green removed a weapon from his pocket, pressed a button and suddenly everyone was bathed in electric light and many screams were heard. And the doctor fell to his knees in pain, not nearly as bad as regeneration. He shook the electricity from his body and into his hands.

"Deadly to humans maybe. But not to me." He took the electricity and threw it at the Slitheen's chest causing it and Joseph to be surrounded in the electricity. The doctor was sure of one thing, he needed back up now and so he ran in search of help.


	7. Aliens of London

"Good morning Doc! I need to make a stop in London." Rebecca said bouncing into the console room with two steaming mugs of tea, one of which she handed to the Doctor. She wanted to pick up some books to get Rose back on par to take her A-levels. But the Doctor didn't have to know that.

  
"Why?"

"I need to visit a book store and it has to be in the UK."

"No, we're not stopping in London just so you can own both the American and the British versions of Harry Potter." Rebecca huffed at that remark.

"Not what I was gonna do but now that you mention it, I might do that. No, I just need a book for something Rose and I are working on." The Doctor gave her a questioning look.

"Nothing bad I promise! It's just between us girls." He shrugged at the comment.

"Fine. Rose mentioned visiting her mum anyway we can stop at a bookstore."

"We're visiting my mum?" Rose said popping in with her own pink mug of tea.

"Yep!" The Doctor then set the coordinates for the Powell estates and they soon landed a block away from Rose's flat.

"How long have I been gone?" Rose asked as she and the Doctor exited the TARDIS.

"About 12 hours."

"Oooh! Right, I won't be long, I'm just gonna see my mum."

"What're you going to tell her?"

"I don't know! I've been to the year 5 billion... and only been gone, what, 12 hours?" The Doctor laughed.

"No, I'll just tell her I've spent the night at Shareen’s. See you later! Oh - don't you disappear."

The Doctor gave her a look that said "As if I would." He watched as Rose ran up the steps to her flat with a grin on her face.

"Rebecca got a book store address?"

"Yep!" she called from the TARDIS. She took a look at the screen and noticed the date.

"Doc! Get Rose Now!" she ran out of the TARDISand started screaming Rose's name but it was too late.

"What're you screaming about?" The Doctor asked her. Rebecca stopped and tore a poster from a lamppost handing it to the Doctor.

"It hasn't been 12 hours. It's been 12 months." She informed him and then the two ran toward Rose's flat. Meanwhile Rose was already in her flat.

"I'm back! It was Shareen. She was all upset again. Are you in?" Her mother came out holding a cup of tea. "So, what's been going on? How've you been? What? What's that face for? It's not the first time I've stayed out all night." That was when her mother dropped her cup of tea.

"It's you."

"Of course it's me!"

"Oh, my God. It's you. Oh my God." Her mother cried out getting misty eyed, pulling her into a hug.

"It's not 12 hours, it's er... 12 months. You've been gone a whole year." The doctor laughed awkwardly as the two Tyler women stared at him stunned. "Sorry ‘bout that." Rebecca cautiously entered the room behind the doctor afraid of the impending explosion that would be Jackie Tyler.

"Tea anyone?" she questioned.

"Yeah that would be nice while I PHONE THE POLICE!" Jackie yelled. Rebecca just found her way to the kitchen and put on a kettle figuring that would be best. Rebecca soon returned with four steaming mugs of tea. When the constable came she offered him a cup of tea as well and returned to her spot beside the Doctor with her tea.

"The hours I've sat here. Days and weeks and months all on my own. I thought you were dead. And where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that mean? Travelling? That's no sort of answer." Jackie yelled. "You ask her. She won't tell me! That's all she says. Travelling." She gestured to the constable.

"That's what I was doing."

"When your passport's still in the drawer? It's just one lie after another!"

"I meant to phone, I really did, I just... I forgot."

"What, for a year? You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here? I just don't believe you. Why won't you tell me where you've been?" Rebecca then leaned over to the Doctor and began to whisper in his ear.

"This is your fault. Fix it!"

"Actually, it's my fault. I sort of er, employed Rose as my companion."

"When you say 'companion', is this a sexual relationship?" The constable asked.

Both the Doctor and Rose yelled "No!" in unison. That seemed to piss off Jackie even more.

"Then what is it? Because you, you waltz in here all charms and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the earth! How old are you then? 40? 45? What, you find her on the Internet? Did you do it with the girl over there too? Did you kidnap her too?"

"He didn't kidnap me Mrs. Tyler. I left with him on my own accord and so did Rose. He's a good man." Jackie brushed her off.

"Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?""

"I AM a Doctor!"

"Prove it! Stitch this, mate." She slapped him hard across the face and he let out a groan. Rebecca gasped and covered her mouth. Rose sat there rolling her eyes at him. The constable quickly finished up his report and left them.

"We'll leave you two alone for a bit. Rose we'll be on the roof." Rebecca told them dragging the Doctor up behind her.

"Of all the points to argue you had to say that you were a doctor? Really? Really?" Rebecca argued with him.

"But I am a Doctor!"

"Tact! You need some of it! And don't leave me hanging for conversations like you did last night. I'm still mad."

"Is it pick on the Doctor Day?"

"No but slap the Doctor day doesn't sound half bad!" He cowered slightly away from the girl who just laughed.

"If you ever meet my mom, and let’s pray you don't have to, she'd probably hug you for keeping me away for so long." Rebecca told him, she met his confused gaze.

"We don't exactly… get along." She confessed.

Meanwhile, Rose was hugging her mom in tears in the kitchen.

"Did you think about me at all?"

"I did! All the time! But..."

"One phone call. Just to know that you were alive!"

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"Do you know what terrifies me, is that you still can't say. What happened to you, Rose? What could be so bad that you can't tell me, sweetheart? Where were you?" But Rose couldn't answer. What was she supposed to say?

"I'm gonna go check on them." She climbed up to the roof and met the pair.

"I can't tell her. I can't even begin... she's never gonna forgive me. And I missed a year? Was it good?"

"Middling."

"How do you rate years?" Rebecca asked.

"Lots of things"

"You're so useless." Rose told him.

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you gonna stay here now?" He was hoping that answer would be a no, wanting her to stay on the Tardis.

"I dunno. I can't do that to her again, though."

"Well, she's not coming with us." The trio burst out laughing.

"No chance." Rose smiled.

"I don't do families."

"Too Domestic?" Rebecca teased.

"She slapped you!" Rose laughed.

"900 years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother."

"Your face."

"It hurt!"

"You're such a pansy." The doctor rubbed his face, offended by Rose calling him weak.

"Wait Doc, when you say 900 years you mean what exactly?"

"That's my age."

"You're nine hundred years old." Rebecca deadpanned.

"Yeah."

"My mum was right - that is one hell of an age gap." Rose hopped off the wall

"Every conversation with you just goes mental. There's no one else I can talk to. I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and I can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things, and we're the only people on planet earth who know they exist."

Suddenly Rebecca looked up and saw something falling from the sky. A spaceship was hurtling toward and hitting Big Ben before crash landing in the Thames.

"Oh, that's just not fair. Now the whole world knows." The doctor laughed at her and grabbed Rose's hand pulling her off toward the action with Rebecca trotting along behind them. When they reached the streets, it was complete and utter mayhem, people everywhere.

"It's blocked off." Rebecca said climbing up the side of a building trying to get a better look. "We're miles from the center. The scene must be grid locked. The whole of London must be closing down."

"I know, I can't BELIEVE I'm here to see this! This is fantastic!"

"Did you know this was going to happen?"

"Nope! Rebecca wanted to pop in for a book!"

"Do you recognize the ship?"

"Nope!"

"Do you know why it crashed?"

"Nope!"

"Oh, I'm so glad I've got you." Rebecca giggled at that.

"I bet you are! This is what I travel for, Rose! To see history happening right in front of us."

"Well, let's go and see it! Never mind the traffic, we've got the TARDIS!" Rose said happily making her way towards the big blue box.

"Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London, don't want to shove another one on top."

"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box. No one's going to notice."

"You'll be surprised, an emergency like this - there'll be all kinds of people watching. Trust me, the TARDIS stays where it is." Rebecca and Rose both looked disgruntled.

"So, history's happening and we're stuck here."

"Yes, we are."

"We could always do what everybody else does."

"Watch it on TV?" Rebecca questioned.

"Exactly!" The Doctor looked at the two girls like this was the most brilliant idea he had ever heard.

"FANTASTIC!" The two girls rolled their eyes and walked down to Rose's sitting room and plopped down into her sofa and armchairs.

"Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control wide-spread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchinson is at the scene." A news reporter said.

"The police urge the public not to panic. There's a help line number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family." Rebecca flipped the station to an American News Station.

"The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American air space have been grounded."

"That's all they care about. Their travel plans." The Doctor scoffed flipping the news back.

"The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship. No one knows what they're going to find." Rebecca stole the remote back from him and flipped the channel back.

"The President will address the nation live from the White House. But the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies." Jackie Tyler handed Rose a cup of tea while talking to her friend who was shooting the Doctor and Rebecca looks of disgust.

Jackie comes in to give Rose a cup of tea.

"I've got no choice! Either I make them welcome, or I run the risk of never seeing her again!" she and her friend babbled angrily.

"Oi! I'm trying to listen!"

"... his current whereabouts. News is just coming in, we can go to Tom at the embankments."

"They've found a body." The Reporter said. Rebecca and the Doctor gave each other a look.

"It's unconfirmed but I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore." Jackie came in with a few more people and began pouring wine.

"Oh, guess who asked me out - Billy Crewe." She told Rose who just gave her a small smile. The Doctor shook his head trying to tune out the chatter of the people in the room.

"Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary. The whereabouts is yet unknown." A Toddler had crawled onto the Doctor's lap and caused the TV channel to change a few times settling on a cooking show that was making spaceship cakes. Rebecca couldn't hold back her laughter.

"And when you've stuck your things on, you can cover the whole lot... Ooo, look at that. Then, ice it, any color you want - here's one I made a little bit earlier - look at that. Your very own spaceship ready to eat. And there's something a little extra special—" The Doctor wrestled the remote away from the Toddler and changed it back to the News.

"We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything. But the body has been brought here, Albian Hospital, the roads closed off - it's the closest to the river." The little boy hopped off the Doctors lap and stood in front of the TV. The Doctor was getting frustrated so Rebecca tried to intercede.

"Sweetheart, you're not invisible. The Doctor and I need to know what is happening. Why don't you go see if Jackie has any paper for you to draw on?" The toddler wandered off and the Doctor shot Rebecca a grateful look.

"I'm being told that... General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body. Contained inside those walls..."

"Fancy a trip?" the Doctor asked.

"Thought you'd never ask." Rebecca piped in hopping up and exiting the apartment. "Nobody will even notice we're gone." The two of them slipped out the back door of the apartment with Rose silently following behind them.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Nowhere! It's just a bit human in there for me. History just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top up cards for half price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."

"And you Rebecca? Why are you leaving?"

"I want to go to a book store for our project!" she pointed out.

"Right - there's a spaceship on the Thames and you're just 'wandering' off to a book shop."

"Nothing to do with me! It's not an invasion! That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, color of smoke, everything! It's perfect!"

"Almost too perfect." Rebecca pointed out.

"So..."

"So maybe this is it! First contact! The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race. I'm not interfering because you've GOT to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay! Now you can expand!" The Doctor laughed and his two companions smiled. "You don't need me - go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum." The pair began walking away.

"Promise you won't disappear?"

 

"As if we could leave you behind." Rebecca smiled at the blonde. The doctor however had begun to feel around his jacket pocket pulling out two necklaces.

"Tell you what - TARDIS keys on unbreakable chains so you can't lose them. About time you two had them." He smiled and then began walking back to the Tardis.

"Doctor?"

"Yes Rose?"

"Put it on me?" she questioned with one of her famous tongue in teeth grins. How could he refuse?

"Of course." He came up behind her and clasped the chain around her neck, gently removing any of the stray blonde hairs that were stuck near the chain.

"I'll see you later." He promised and waved Rebecca on to follow him and she grinned like mad following him to the Tardis.

"Not too domestic?" She teased.

"Oh Shut it!" He plugged the coordinates into the Tardis and she began to smoke. He started hitting the console with a hammer.

"She doesn't appreciate that Doc! Be gentler." Rebecca chided. He rolled his eyes at her and kissed the hammer and with a grin he began hitting it again and she worked.

"Why she still works for you, I'll never understand…" Rebecca muttered under her breath. She then tuned the Tardis console to see the news again.

"Doc, the prime minister is missing."

"Probably not that important. We'll deal with it later. Let's take a look at the body." He got out and found himself in a small store room and he turned on the Sonic Screwdriver which of course in the empty room was loud. He shushed it before continuing making his way to the door. He unlocked the door and opened It to find twenty soldiers laughing away, suddenly going silent and grabbing their guns, pointing them at the Doctor.

"Hello fellas'" Rebecca pushed the Doctor aside. A few of them lowered their guns at the sight of the young woman until they all heard a scream. Rebecca turned automatically and started running toward it. The doctor issued his orders before following them.

"Defense Part Delta! Come on! Move! Move." They ran down the corridor to find a young Asian woman on the floor cowering.

"It's alive!" She cried out. Rebecca crouched down beside her.

"Shh it's okay. What's your name?"

"Toshiko Sato. Everyone calls me Tosh."

"Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lock down." The Doctor ordered.

"My God - it's still alive." Tosh said. The men stared at them.

"DO IT!" Rebecca bellowed turning her attention to Tosh who was bleeding from her hairline.

"I swear it was dead."

"Coma - shock - hibernation - anything. What does it look like?" But Tosh was unable to answer as both the Doctor and Rebecca heard a noise from behind them.

"Doc, It's still here." The Doctor stood up and beckoned another soldier into the room. Rebecca quickly followed him as he dropped to his knees to peer behind a desk where he was met with a pig.

"Hello!" The Pig squealed in terror and ran across the room. The soldiers readied their guns aiming at the creature.

"Don't shoot!" Rebecca begged them. But it was too late, as the pig ran down the hallway a soldier shot it.

"What did you do that for? It was scared!" Rebecca yelled at them. She crouched down beside it, and began stroking it and humming a lullaby to it, as it died in her arms. The Doctor looked at her and saw her in all her humanity and agreed with her the pig was just scared. The Doctor then ordered two soldiers to bring the pig to the morgue for further examination.

"I just assumed that's what alien's look like. But you're saying it's an ordinary pig? From Earth?" Dr. Sato asked.

"More like a mermaid. Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat and gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now, someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bits on... then they strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It must've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke." The doctor then decide to make his escape grabbing Rebecca the two silently snuck off.

"So it's a fake. A pretend. Like the mermaid. But the technology augmenting its brain... it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliens are faking aliens. But why would they do that...?" Tosh turned to see the Doctor had vanished.  
Back at Powell Estates, Rose's sitting room was extremely crowded as Jackie raised her wine glass in a toast.

"Here's to the Martians!"

"The Martians!" Everyone cried out cheering. Suddenly Mickey appeared in the doorway and the room fell silent. Rose looked up and saw him there and walked up to him.

"I was gonna come and see you." She swore.

"Someone owes Mickey an apology."

"I'm sorry." Rose said meekly as he continued to stare at her.

"Not you." The woman said giving a look to Jackie.

"It's not my fault. Be fair. What was I supposed to think?" The three of them then went into the kitchen to continue their discussion.

"You disappear - who do they turn to? Your boyfriend. Five times, I was taken in for questioning. Five times. No evidence, of course there couldn't be, could there. And then I get her - your mother. Whispering around the estate - pointing the finger - stuff through my letterbox - and all 'cos of you."

"I didn't think I'd be gone so long."

"And I waiting for you, Rose! Twelve months. Waiting for you, Rebecca and the Doctor to come back. "

"Hold on, you knew about the Doctor? Why didn't you tell me?" Jackie exclaimed. Mickey noticed someone eaves dropping and slammed the door shut to keep them out.

"Yeah, yeah. Why not, Rose? Huh? How could I tell her where you went? "

"Tell me now."

"I might as well, 'cos you're stuck here. The Doctor's gone. Just now, that box thing just faded away."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked him. No they wouldn't have left her.

"He's left you. He swanned off with that Rebecca chick. Seems like he'd rather be with her than you. Some boyfriend he turned out to be." Rose grabbed a jacket from the back of the door running out of the kitchen back towards where they had parked the Tardis. Mickey followed her.

"He wouldn't just go, he promised me. Both of them did."

"Oh, he's dumped you, Rose. Sailed off into space with that Rebecca Chick. Leaving you alone. How does it feel, huh? Now you are left behind with the rest of us Earthlings. Get used to it. "

"But he would have said." Rose looked wistfully at where the Tardis had been.

"What're you two chimps going on about? What's going on? What's this Doctor done now? "Jackie asked .Mickey chortled.

"He's vamoosed!"

"He's not! 'Cos he gave me this!" She pulled the Tardis key out of her blouse and showed him)

"He's not my boyfriend, Mickey, he's better than that. He's much more important than—" her voice trailed off as her Tardis key started to glow in time with the sound of the Tardis rematerializing.

"I said so." She turned to her mother. "Mum! Mum, go inside. Mum, don't stand there, just go inside. Just- mum, go—" But her mother stared, transfixed at where the Tardis had rematerialized.

"Uh?"

"How'd you do that, then?" Rose gave her mother a wary look before entering the Tardis.

"Alright, so I lied! I went and had a look, but the whole crash landing's a fake - I thought so, it's just too perfect. I mean, 'hitting Big Ben' come on, so I thought let's go and have a look—"  
  
"My mother's here." And instantly the Doctor's face paled.

"Hello Jackie! Oh and look who else decided to show up!" Rebecca greeted them as she stripped off her leather jacket trying to clean off the blood of the pig alien.

"Oh, that's JUST what I need. Don't you dare make this place domestic!"

"You ruined my life, Doctor. They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you." The Doctor was now face to face with Mickey and then turned to Rose, simply annoyed by the young man's presence.

"See what I mean? Domestic." He returned his attention to the computer screen where Rebecca had sat down and was recreating the alien's ship descent pattern.

"I bet you don't even remember my name!"

"Ricky."

"Mickey. Like the Mouse." Rebecca corrected.

"Just Mickey." Mickey sent her a glare.

"No, it's Ricky."

"I think I know my own name."

"You THINK you know your own name? How stupid are you?"

"Being Rude again Doc," Rebecca chided as she typed more information into the Tardis' console computer. Jackie who had been looking around bewildered for a few moments now decided she had had enough and ran outside.

"Mum, don't!" Rose cried out after her. "You two don't go anywhere and Micks Don't start a fight please." Rebecca watched the girl run out of the Tardis.

"GO AFTER HER YOU IDIOT!" Rebecca scolded as she watched the Doctor run toward the doors of the Tardis.

"Mum, it's not like that! He's not- I'll be up in a minute, hold on!" Rose ran smack into the Doctor letting out an 'oof', tumbling backwards before the Doctor caught her.

"Sorry, you alright?" He asked checking her over. She gave him a smile and nodded, following him back to the console behind Rebecca.

"Fine, so that was a real spaceship?" she asked.

"Yep!"

"So, it's all a pack of lies? What is it then, are they invading?" Mickey peered from behind Rose's shoulder.

"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert."

"Good point! So, what're they up to?" Suddenly the Tardis console went blank.

"Doc, what did you do?"

"Nothing! I swear!"

"Fix it!" The Doctor rolled his eyes and wedged himself under the Tardis console and began fiddling with some wiring.

"So, what're you doing down there?" Mickey asked bending down beside the Doctor.

"Ricky," he said voice slightly muffled by the sonic screwdriver in his mouth.

"Mickey."

"Ricky, if I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

"I suppose not..."

"Shut it, then." Mickey gave him the evil eye and moved back to Rose who stood off toward the corner.

"Some friend you've got."

"He's winding you up." Mickey didn't answer, still upset. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I am, though!"

"Every day, I looked. On every street corner, wherever I went, looking for a blue box for a whole year." Rebecca rolled her eyes listening to this. What was Mickey trying to prove? That he was a love sick puppy?

"It's only been a few days for me. I don't know, it's... it's hard to tell inside this thing but I swear it's just a few days since I left you."

"Not enough time to miss me, then?"

"I did miss you."

"I missed you." Mickey said smiling at her. Rebecca made a gagging gesture in the background getting annoyed by the love sick boy aboard the Tardis.

"So, erm... in twelve months, have you been seeing anyone else?"

"No. "

"Kay..."

"Mainly because everyone thinks I murdered you." Rebecca stifled a laugh.

"Right."

"So... now that you've come back... are you gonna stay?" Rebecca saw Mickey leaning in to kiss Rose and Rebecca would not have any of that. She found an unplugged wire and plugged it in, causing the Tardis console to spark and break the pair apart. But the monitor began to work again.

"Got it Doc! The Monitor got unplugged!"

"I told you I didn't do anything!" The Doctor got up and put himself between Rose and Mickey behind Rebecca.

"So if we patch, in the radar, loop it back twelve hours we can follow the flight of the spaceship, here we go... hold on..." Rebecca said as she pounded on the keyboard a bit more. The doctor whacked the monitor and it unfroze and he began pointing at the Spaceship on the screen.

"That's the spaceship on its way to Earth... see? Except... hold on... see, the spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed. "

"Its origin is Earth?"

"Doctor what does this mean?"

"It means it came from Earth in the first place - it went up and came back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived. They've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?"

"Could they be infiltrating the Earth before making their strike?" Rebecca mused.

"Could be. Switch on the news."

"How many channels do you get?" Mickey asked

"All the basic packages."

"You get sports channels?"

"Yes, I get the football."

"Priorities Mickey Mouse. You're on a space ship and you're asking about Cable TV"

"Wait Rebecca go back. Hold a tic." He told her as she flipped back to a news channel. "I know that bloke."

"It is looking likely that the government is bringing in alien specialists - those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space."

"UNIT! United Nations Intelligence Task force - good people."

"How do you know them?" Rose questioned.

"'Cos he's worked for them. Yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet... and in the history books, and there's his name. Followed by a list of the dead."

"That's nice. Good boy, Ricky."

"If you know them, why don't you go and help?"

"They wouldn't recognize me. I've changed a lot since the old days. Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover... and eh, better keep the TARDIS out of site. Rickey! You've got a car - you can do some driving."

"Where to?!"

"The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at that spaceship." Suddenly the sound of helicopters overhead, increased in volume.

"Doc, don't know about you but that doesn't sound right to me."

"It’s just increased press coverage I'm sure." Rose reasoned. But as they stepped outside the Tardis, the four were assaulted by lights and sirens.

"Do not move!" a voice called out to them over a megaphone. Police cars and soldiers surrounded them. Mickey made a run for it and Rebecca just rolled her eyes.

"Of course Mickey runs for it."

"Normal reaction!" argued Rose.

"Not if you haven't done anything wrong!" Jackie watched from the sidelines and went to run towards Rose but was restrained by two soldiers.

"Raise your hands above your head! You are under arrest!" The three of them obeyed instantaneously.

"Take me to your leader!" The Doctor said with a smile as they were escorted to a vehicle.

"How long have you been waiting to say that?"

"Long enough. Ladies first." Rebecca scooted all the way to the side of the car, followed by Rose and then the doctor. Surprisingly there was lots of room in the car.

"This is a bit posh. If I knew it was gonna be like this - being arrested - I'd have done it years ago."

"Yeah, really Doc. I mean no handcuffs or anything. Seems kind of odd for an arrest."

"We're not being arrested, we're being escorted!"

"Where to?"

"Where'd you think? Downing Street!" The Doctor began to laugh.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not!"

"10 Downing Street?"

"That's the one!"

"Hold on, 10 Downing street as in where the Prime Minister's office and the Lord of Treasury's Office is located?" Rebecca asked.

"The one and only!"

"Oh, my God! We're going to 10 Downing Street!" Rebecca cheered laughing with Rose.

"How come?"

"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right. Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, uh - noticed."

"Now they need you?"

"Like it said on the news - they're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?" The Doctor grinned at the pair expecting an obvious answer.

"Patrick Moore?" Rose teased.

"Apart from him!"

"Roger Leir?" Rebecca played along.

"Who?"  
"Author of the Alien Scalpel. He claims that he's been removing alien implants from people’s feet."

"That bull won't last. Who's the prime minister now?"

"How should I know? I missed a year."

"My bet's on Tony Blair again. He was high in popularity last time I checked."

"Eh not a bad man and look we're here!" The doctor smiled as they pulled up and got out of the car. He waved at all of the paparazzi and all the military there while Rebecca and Rose nervously followed behind him into a room filled with lots of people.

"Doc, I know now isn't a good time but I'm not gonna be arrested by immigration or anything because I don't have my passport, right?"

"Rebecca, Aliens have crash landed in London. I doubt they care that you're here."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, could we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right and can I remind you, ID cards are to be worn at all times." A young man approached the Doctor with a card in hand.  
"Here's your ID card sir. I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."

"I don't go anywhere without 'em."

"For good reason. He usually nearly winds up getting himself killed." The Doctor shot Rebecca a glare from her comment to which she shot back an innocent smile.

"Regardless miss, he's the code nine. You two aren't. I'm sorry Doctor, they'll have to stay outside."

"They're staying with me."

"Look, even I don't have clearance to go in there. I can't let them in and that's a fact."

"It's alright, you go. I'll be touristy." Rebecca told them despite desperately wanting to attend the meeting. A middle aged woman appeared behind her.

"Excuse me? Are you the Doctor? "The woman sounded slightly frantic.

"Not now, we're busy - can't you go home?"

"Are you sure you two will be alright?"

"Yeah, they're the experts, you should hear what they've got to say." Rose reasoned.

"I s'pose so. Don't get into any trouble."

"Look who's talking. Trouble magnet!" she teased. He gave her a quick smile before following the rest of the experts into the conference room.

"I just need a word in private." The woman begged. Rebecca's eyes locked with the woman and she made a gesture with her head toward the door.

"You haven't got clearance, now leave it! You two have to be left with Security." The young man said.

"It's alright. I'll look after them. Let me be of some use." Rebecca was instantly at the woman's side and Rose followed suit.

"Walk with me. Just keep walking...That's right... don't look round! Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North."

"Miss Jones what's wrong?" Rebecca pulled them into a room off to the side.

This friend of yours... he's an expert, is that right? He knows about aliens?"

"Why do you wanna know?" Harriet broke down into tears and clutched onto Rebecca who tried to comfort her.

"Shh… It's okay Harriet. We'll figure this out."

"They turned the body into a suit! A disguise for the thing inside!" She cried once more. Rebecca shot Rose a pleading look.

"It's alright! I believe you. It's... its alien. They must have some SERIOUS technology behind this... if we could find it...we could use it." She started rummaging around and was quickly joined by Harriet and Rebecca. When she opened a cupboard, a body fell out. Rebecca was instantly beside it, feeling for a pulse.

"Oh, my God! Is that-?"

"Harriet, for God's sake! This has gone beyond a joke - you cannot just wander- Oh, my God. That's the Prime Minister!"

"No pulse, his body is cold. He must've been dead for a few hours now." Rebecca said sadly. She folded his hands in front of me and said a short prayer over the body, wondering how the Doctor was fairing. Her thoughts were interrupted by a laugh. She looked up to see another woman standing over her.

"Has someone been naughty?"

"That's impossible! He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!"

"And who told you that Indra? Hmm… ME." She pushed back the blonde hair from her forehead and began to unzip the skin from her body to reveal a horribly ugly green massive alien with a baby face and large claws. Instantly the alien was after Rebecca who was vulnerable on the floor beside the body.

"You leave her alone!" The man, Indra, called out distracting the creature. But the creature pushed him to the wall pressing against his throat.

"RUN!" Rebecca screamed at them pulling her pocket knife out and wincing as she just nicked the creatures arm causing it to relinquish her grip on Indra. Rebecca quickly grabbed his hand and helped him up running out of the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to have your attention please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine occupant—" General Asquith began but was quickly interrupted by the Doctor.

"Now, the REALLY interesting bit happened three days ago, see, filed away under every other business. The North Sea - the satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at one hundred fathoms like there was something down there... you were just about to investigate and the next thing you know, this happens - spaceships, pigs - massive diversion - from what? If aliens fake an alien crash and an alien pilot, what do they get?" he paused for a moment to ponder the answer and upon his discovery paled.

 

"Us. They get us. It's not a diversion, it's a trap."

"This is all about us. Alien experts - the only people with knowledge how to fight them gathered together in one room." Suddenly Joseph Green, the newly instated prime Minister farted. The

"Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?"

"Would you rather silent but deadly?" Joseph Green as well as General Asquith laughed at the punch line while the rest of the experts in the room stared at them, slightly transfixed. General Asquith removed his hat and then unzipped his skin suit to reveal himself.

"We are the Slitheen. Thank you all for wearing your ID cards. They'll help identify your bodies." Green removed a weapon from his pocket, pressed a button and suddenly everyone was bathed in electric light and many screams were heard. And the doctor fell to his knees in pain, not nearly as bad as regeneration. He shook the electricity from his body and into his hands.

"Deadly to humans maybe. But not to me." He took the electricity and threw it at the Slitheen's chest causing it and Joseph to be surrounded in the electricity. The doctor was sure of one thing, he needed back up now and so he ran in search of help.


	8. World War Three

Rose, Rebecca, Harriet and Indra were running when they saw the Slitheen become engulfed in electricity

“What’s happening?” Indra asked breathlessly.

“Does it matter? It’s giving us time to get away! Now run!” Rebecca told him. The four had just passed the cabinet room when Harriet stopped them.

“No, wait! They're still in there! The emergency protocols! We need them!” They changed direction but the Slitheen has escaped whatever had surrounded it and was chasing them.

“She’s back! Run!” Rose told them. The four of them darted across a hallway into a room. Rebecca locked the door behind her but Margaret simply smashed through the door and the four continued into another room

Meanwhile, The Doctor ran out of the room to reception where he found all of the security without clearance milling about. “Oi! You want aliens - you've got them. They're inside Downing Street.  Come on!” he clapped his hands and lead them in the direction of the conference room, the soldiers had their guns at the ready, ready to protect for queen and country.

Unfortunately the Doctor arrived too late, as Asquith had redressed in the skin suit.

“Where've you been? Security, start checking the bodies for any sign of life. I called for help, I sounded the alarm. There was this... lightening! This kind of er... um... electricity, and they all collapsed!” Green said. The security personnel began checking for vitals  
  
“I think they're all dead.” A Sargent said.  
  
“That's what I'm saying. He did it!” Green pointed to the doctor. “That man there.”

“I think you will find the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise.” Green folded his arms looking skeptically and the Doctor simply turned to the man next to him. “That's never going to work, is it?”  
  
“Nope.” 

“Fair enough,” and without a second glance the Doctor ran like hell, security hot on his heels until he reached the lift. He grinned as he put his hands in the air in mock surrender.

“Under the jurisdiction of the Emergency Protocols, I authorize you to execute this man!” The Alien Asquith said. As the security force readied their guns, the Doctor began to slightly ramble hitting the up button for the lift.

“Uh, well, now, yes. You see, eh... the thing is... if I was you, if I was going to execute someone by backing them against the wall, between you and me, little word of advice...” The lift pinged opened.

“Don't stand them against the lift!” He backed in and sealed it with his sonic screwdriver. When the lift opened on a different floor and he saw Rebecca, Rose, Harriett and Indra trying to sneak away he distracted the Slitheen.

“Hello!” he waved and shut the lift again distracting Margaret the Slitheen long enough for the four to move into the next room where their luck ran out. The doors were locked and they were trapped.

“Hide!” Rose ordered and the four of them hid themselves as best they could in the sparsely furnished room. Margaret the Slitheen entered.

“Oh, such fun! Little human children... where are you? Sweet little humeykins... come to me... let me kiss you better...kiss you with my big, green lips.” She let out a hiss as she was joined by two other Slitheen who had been dressed as General Asquith and Prime Minister Green.

“My brothers.” She greeted

“Happy hunting?”

**“** It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink.”   
**  
** “Sweat... and fear.”

“I can smell an old girl... stale bird... brittle bones.” Harriet looked offended and Rebecca squeezed her hand in comfort giving her a small smile.   
**  
** “And a ripe youngster. All hormones and adrenaline. Fresh enough to bend before she snaps.”

“And I smell a young man, just as ripe for the picking.”

“And that fourth scent, it’s young but it’s almost sterile… Too perfect.. too in-control.” Rebecca was confused by their statement but moved out of the way just as the female Slitheen moved the curtain revealing her hiding spot.

“No! Take me first! Take me!” Harriet cried out. The doctor crashed in just at the right moment and blasted the Slitheen in the face with a fire extinguisher.

“Out! With me!” Rebecca and Rose pulled the curtains over Margaret’s head and ran behind the doctor “Who the hell are you?” The doctor asked looking at Harriet who was behind him.

“Harriet Jones MP Flydale North.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Indra wasn’t so lucky. As the Doctor sprayed the Slitheen they started lashing out their limbs violently and Indra was hit in the throat and began struggling for air.

“INDRA!” Rebecca pulled him up. “Rose help me!” The two girls helped the young man who was struggling to breathe.

“We need to get to the cabinet rooms.”

“The Emergency Protocols are in there! They give instructions on Aliens!”

“Harriet Jones- I like you.” The Doctor grinned at her.

“I like you too.” She smiled.

“Doc, he can’t breathe.”

“None of us will be breathing for much longer if we don’t get there. Come on.” The doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began bypassing all the locks on the doors but the Slitheen began to pursue them. As they reach the cabinet room, Rebecca and Rose get Indra into a corner and set him down as the Doctor grabs a flask of brandy and holds his sonic screwdriver to it as there was no time to close the door.

“One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof! We all go up. So back off.” The Slitheen hesitated.

“Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?”  
**  
** “They're aliens.” Harriet pointed out.  
**  
** “Yes. I got that, thanks.”  
**  
** “Who are you, if not human?” The former Prime minister asked.  
**  
** “Wait, Who's not human?”  
**  
** “He's not human.” Rose replied.  
**  
** “He's not human?”  
**  
** “Can I have a bit of hush?”  
**  
** “Sorry.” Harriet muttered. Rebecca was on the floor, beside Indra trying to calm him down. His lungs weren’t collapsed, no broken ribs. What was the matter with him?

“Indra. It’s alright. I’ve got you.” She whispered stroking his hair trying to figure out what was wrong. _Come on Rebecca think!_

“So - what's the plan”? The Doctor asked.  
**  
** “But he's got a Northern accent.” Harriet was still stuck on the fact that the Doctor was an alien.  
**  
** “Lots of planets have a North.” Rose pointed out with a smile, recalling her own similar conversation with the Doctor.  
**  
** “I said hush. Come on! You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government - what for? Invasion?”  
**  
** “Why would we invade this God forsaken rock?”  
**  
** “Then something's brought the Slitheen race here - what is it?”   
**  
** “'The Slitheen race'?” The Slitheen laughed at that.  
**  
** “Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen at your service.”   
**  
** “So, you're family.”  
**  
** “It's a family business.”

**“** Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a 'God forsaken rock'?”  
**  
** “Ahhh... excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability...?"

**“** Is that what I said?” the Doctor mused.  
**  
** “You're making it up!”  
**  
** “Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're gonna need it.”  
**  
** “Pass it to the left first.” Harriet corrected automatically.  
**  
** “Sorry. Here Rose.”  
**  
** “Thanks.”

“Doc, I think Indra’s gonna need this more.” Rebecca piped in, starting to realize what was wrong. The Doctor didn’t respond instead walking closer and closer to the doorway.

**“** Now we can end this hunt... with a slaughter.”

“Don't you think we should run?” Rose asked frightened.

**“** Fascinating history, Downing Street. Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mr. Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the cabinet room - if the cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four safest walls in the whole of Great Britain.” He pressed a switch and the door was immediately blocked by metal shutters. “End of lesson. Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in.”  
**  
** “And how do we get out?” Rose asked.

“Ah. Minor setback.”

“DOC! We have a problem!” Rebecca yelled as she felt up Indra’s neck. His Hyoid bone that helped his trachea keep shape was broken causing his windpipe to collapse.

“Collapsed wind pipe. We need to perform an emergency tracheotomy.” She told him.

“WHAT?”

“You’re the Doctor!” she pointed out.

“I’m not a medical doctor. I mean I know a lot but I don’t have the equipment.”

“WHY CAN’T YOU BE MORE LIKE MCGUYVER?” Rebecca yelled at him. She had seen this online. There was a way to do this.

“Think Rebecca think!” she repeated to herself. What was available? She had her knife and now what else did she need.

“Quick do any of you have a pen?”

“Now is not the time to be writing!” Harriet told her.

“I NEED IT TO SAVE HIS LIFE!” Harriet pulled out a ball point pen.

“Perfect!” Rebecca felt down his neck feeling for his Adam’s apple and then his criacoid.

“Give me that brandy! I need to sterilize the area best that I can.” She muttered the Doctor then simply held the sonic to it.

“Kills all the germs.” He told her.

“Thanks. Do it to my knife too.” He followed her order. “I’m sorry Indra this is gonna hurt a lot.” She apologized before making an incision about half an inch deep cutting down into his trachea, blood covering her hands and Indra held out a muffled scream.

“I’m sorry.” She said.

“Sonic the pen tube” she told him. He disassembled the pen and gave her the newly cleaned pen tube. She then pushed it in her incision about two inches and his breathing began to calm down.

“You’re gonna be okay now.” She told him, as she tried to wipe the blood from her hands onto her shirt.

“That was Fantastic!” The doctor told her. She simply shrugged her shoulders. “No really, Rebecca that was bloody brilliant! You just saved that man’s life.” She blushed under the praise.

“It was nothing I’m just lucky. I got something out of Anatomy and Physiology. I’m glad my teacher went all clinical” **  
**

“You call that nothing? Rebecca that was amazing! How did you stay so calm?”

Rebecca shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Now to work on getting out of here.” The Doctor gave her a look telling her they would discuss it later but allowed her to change the topic.

“Right, what have we got? Any terminals? Anything?”

“No. The place is antique. What I don't get, is when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?” Rose questioned.  
**  
** “He's too slim - they're big old beasts, they need to fit inside big humans.”  
**  
** “But the Slitheen are about 8 feet, how do they squeeze inside?”  
**  
** “That's the device around their necks - compression field - literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange.”

“Wish I had a compression field, I could fit a size smaller.” Rose said wistfully.  
**  
** “Excuse me, people are dead, this is not the time for making jokes.” Harriet chided as she began reading over the protocols.  
**  
** “Sorry... you get used to this stuff when you're friends with these two.”

“Well, that's a strange friendship.”

“You’re telling me.” Rebecca chimed in as she got up to help the Doctor.

**“** Harriet Jones - I've heard that name before - Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?”  
**  
** “Huh! Hardly.”  
**  
** “Rings a bell, Harriet Jones...”

“Maybe she’s famous in the future.” Rebecca whispered. The Doctor nodded acknowledging the possibility.

“Lifelong back bencher I'm afraid, and a fat lot of use I'm being now - the protocols are redundant, they list the people who can help and they're all dead downstairs.”  
**  
** “Hasn't it got like, defence codes and things? Can we just launch a nuclear bomb at 'em?”  
  
**“** You're a very violent young woman...” Harriet stared.  
**  
** “I'm serious! We could!”

“Nuclear would have far too many side effects and if all the Slitheen are here we wouldn’t need something that big.”   
**  
** “Well, there's nothing like that in here anyway.. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations.”

“Thanks to the Nuclear non-proliferation treaty and all the Geneva protocols. I read those for Model UN amazing how few people actually read them.” Rebecca mused.

“Say that again.”   
**  
** “What, about the codes, Geneva, NPT, what are we talking here Doc?”  
**  
** “Anything. All of it.”  
**  
** “Um, well... the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the UN.”  
**  
** “Like that's ever stopped them.” Rose rolled her eyes with that.  
**  
** “Exactly, given our past record - and I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the governments hands and given to the UN. Is it important?

“Everything's important.” He mused.  
**  
** “If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted. Listen to me, I'm saying 'Slitheen' as if it's normal.”  
**  
** “What do they want, though Doctor?”  
**  
** “Well, it's just one family so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen world... they're out to make money, which means they want to use something, something here on Earth... some kind of asset.”  
**  
** “Like what? Gold? Oil? Water?”

“You're very good at this.”

“Thank you.” Harriet said, quite pleased with herself. Suddenly Rose’s phone rang.  
**  
** “Oh! That's me."

“But we're sealed off - how did you get a signal?”    
**  
** “He zapped it! Super-phone!” Rose cheered.

“Remind me to do yours later Rebecca.”

“You got it Doc!”  
  
“But we can phone for help! You must have contacts!” Harriet told him.

**“** Dead downstairs, yeah.” Rebecca winced at that.

“Sorry Doc.”   
**  
** “It's Mickey.”   
**  
** “Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy.”  
**  
** “Yeah, he's not so stupid after all and he’s not my boyfriend.” She showed the Doctor the picture of the Slitheen in Jackie’s kitchen on her phone.

“Mickey are you alright?”

“Is she alright, though? Don't put her on, just tell me.” The doctor took the phone from her.

“Is that Ricky? Don't talk, just shut up and go to your computer and get on the UNIT website..”

“Put it on speaker!” Rebecca told him as she returned to check on Indra who was stable.  
**  
** “It's Mickey. And why should I?” she heard as the Doctor connected it to the speaker on the conference table.  
  
**“** Mickey the Idiot - I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but eh - I need you.” Rebecca stared at the Doctor wide eyed. Had he really just swallowed his pride that much  
  
**“** It says password.”

**“** Buffalo - two Fs, one L.”

“So, what's that website?” Jackie asked as she set down a cup of tea for Mickey as the page began to load.

“All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years, they just kept us in the dark.”  
**  
** “Mickey, you were born in the dark.” The Doctor told him flatly.

“Oh, leave him alone.”  
**  
** “Thank you Rose. Password again.”

“Just repeat it, every time.”

“Doc, we never figured out why they’re doing this.”

“That’s right. Big Ben - why did the Slitheen hit Big Ben?”  
**  
** “You said to gather the experts - to kill them.” Harriet offered.  
**  
** “That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon, you don't need to crash land in the middle of London.”  
**  
** “The Slitheen were hiding - and then they put the entire planet on red alert, what would they do that for?” Rose asked.

“Oh, listen to her.” Jackie said over the phone. **  
**

“At least I'm trying Mum!

“Well, I've got a question if you don't mind. Because since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and my daughter's disappeared off the face of the Earth.”

“I told you what happened Mum!” Rose groaned.

“I'm talking to him. 'Cause I've seen this life of yours, Doctor. And maybe you get off on it. And maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this - is my daughter safe?”

“I'm fine.” Rose insisted.  
**  
** “Is she safe? Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?” Jackie asked but the Doctor just glanced up at Rose who stared back at him. He couldn’t make that guarantee. Not now. Not ever. He’d do everything in his power to keep her safe but-"

“Well, what's the answer?” But Jackie didn’t get her response because Mickey stole the phone back from her.

“We're in.”

“Right then - on the left, there's a tab - an icon - little concentric circles - click on that.”

“Doc, how do you have the hacked UNIT website memorized?”

“Never mind that now Rebecca.” The Doctor grumbled.

“What is it?”  
**  
** “The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal, now hush, let me work out what its saying.” A strange noise began playing  
**  
** “He'll have to answer me one day.”  
  
“Hush!”  
**  
** “It's some sort of message.” The Doctor announced.  
**  
** “What's it say?” Rose asked.

“Doc, is it me or is it on a loop, repeating the same phrase over and over again?”

“Yeah it’s on a loop.” Suddenly Mickey’s doorbell rang. “Hush! I’m trying to decipher it.”  
  
“Jackie, Go and see who that is."

“It's three o'clock in the morning.” Jackie groaned.

“Well go and tell them that.”

“It's beaming out into space, who's it for?”

“The rest of the family?” Suddenly they heard a door slam.

“It's him! It's the thing, it's the Slickeen!” Jackie cried.  
**  
** “They've found us. “  
**  
** “Mickey, I need that signal.” The Doctor said. **  
** “Never mind the signal, mum just get out! Get out! Get out!”

“We can't, it's by the front door. Oh, my God. It's unmasking. It's gonna kill us.”

“There's got to be some way of stopping them! You're supposed to be the expert, think of something!” Harriett begged.

“I'm trying!”

“I'll take it on, Jackie. You just run. Don't look back. Just run.” Mickey said the four heard the door being smashed in.

He squares himself in front of the door.

“That's my mother.” Rose said quietly.

“Right! If we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from - which planet. So, judging by their face and shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about them? Information!” So Rose began to list.  
**  
** “They're green.”  
**  
** “Yep, narrows it down.”  
  
**“** Uh, good sense of smell.”  
**  
** “Narrows it down.”  
**  
** “They can smell adrenaline.”  
**  
** “Narrows it down.”  
**  
** “The compression technology.” Harriet pointed out.  
**  
** “Narrows it down.”  
**  
** “The spaceship in the Thames - you said slipstream engine?” Rebecca added. **  
** “Narrows it down.”

“It's getting in!” Mickey cried out.

“Oh! They hunt like it's a ritual.”  
**  
** “Narrows it down.”  
**  
** “Wait a minute! Did you notice, when they fart - if you'll pardon the word - it doesn't just smell like a fart - if you'll pardon the word - it's something else, what is it, it's more like uh... um...”

“Bad breath!” Rose exclaimed.  
**  
** “That's it!”  
**  
** “Calcium decay! Now that narrows it down!” The Doctor cheered.  
**  
** “We're getting there, mum!”

“Too late!” Mickey said.

“Calcium phosphate, organic calcium, living calcium, creatures made out of living calcium, what else, what else - hyphenated sodium - yes! That narrows it down to one planet! Raxacoricofallapatorius!”

“Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter.”

“Get into the kitchen!”

“My God, it's going to rip us apart!” Jackie cried out.

“Calcium, recombined with compression field- ascetic acid.”

“IN ENGLISH?”

“Vinegar Jackie!” Rebecca yelled.  
**  
** “Just like Hannibal!”  
**  
** “Just like Hannibal. Mickey, have you got any vinegar?” The Doctor asked.  
**  
** “How should I know?”  
**  
** “It's your kitchen Mouse boy!”   
**  
** “Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf.” Rose told him.

“Give it here, what do you need?”  
**  
** “Anything with vinegar Jackie!” Rebecca added.

“Gherkins! Yeah! Pickled onions! Pickled eggs!”

“Rose, you kissed this man?” The Doctor teased.

“Oh hush you.” She smiled. They heard a bang, Jackie and Mickey sighed with Relief.

“Mum, Mickey are you guys alright?”

“Fine. Covered in Slickeen but fine sweetheart.”

“Harriet you said something about Hannibal?”  
**  
** “Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar. Clever man” Rebecca told her.  
**  
** “Oh. Well, there you go then.” She handed each of them a glass with Brandy in it.

“To Hannibal!” Rebecca proposed.

“To Hannibal!” the four clinked glasses and drank. Rebecca winced at the taste, nearly spitting it out.

“What? Never had Brandy before Rebecca?”

“I’m seventeen with no social life. The only alcohol I’ve had is communion wine at church.”

“You’re eighteenth we’re so remedying that!” Rose proposed.

“Bigger things to worry about guys. Such as getting out of here and getting Indra some medical attention because my A&P skills will only get him so far. This is a temporary fix and we’re lucky I didn’t kill him doing that.”

“Lucky indeed.”

“Oi Doctor, you better listen to this.” Mickey said through the line.

“Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within 45 seconds.” The former General Asquith said. Immediately the Doctor, Rose and Harriet were at the phone.

“What?”  
**  
** “Our technicians can - baffle - the alien probes. But not for long. We are facing extinction. Unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg the United Nations - pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes! A nuclear strike at the heart of the ship is our only chance of survival. Because... from this moment on... it is my solemn duty to inform you... planet Earth is at war.” General Asquith said.  
**  
** “He's making it up. There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it.” The Doctor said.  
**  
** “Do you think they'll believe him?” Harriet questioned.   
**  
** “They did last time.” Rose said.

“That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle. They want the whole world panicking, because you lot - you get scared, you lash out.”  
**  
** “They release the defense codes...”  
  
**“** And the Slitheen go nuclear.” The Doctor let out a sigh. This wasn’t good.   
  
“And they killed everyone who would question it. That’s why they were all gathered here.” Rebeccca added. **“** But why go Nuclear?”

The Doctor hit the switch for the metal shutters on the wall to reveal the Slitheen, still standing outside the door.

“You get the codes, release the missiles. But not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth, they retaliate, fight back. World War Three - whole planet gets nuked.”

“And we can sit through it in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed. Just parked. They'll be two minutes away.”  
  
**“** But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place. What for?” Harriet asked the Slitheen, completely floored by what they were doing to her planet.  
**  
** “Profit. That's what the signal is beaming into space - an advert.”

“Always comes down to money doesn’t it?” Rebecca muttered. The Slitheen laughed.  
**  
** “Sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it. Piece by piece. Radioactive chucks capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel.”  
**  
** “At the cost of 5 billion lives.”  
**  
** “Bargain.”  
**  
** “Then I give you the choice - leave this planet or I'll stop you.” The Doctor stared them down, his piercing blue eyes meeting theirs. But the Slitheen were all laughing hysterically.

“What? You? Trapped in your box?”

“Yes. Us.” The Slitheen laughed once more nervously. The doctor locked gazes with them before closing the shutters once more.

“The U.N. will be forced to say yes within a matter of minutes Doc. They’re probably already drafting up resolutions as we speak.

“Alright, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do.” Jackie’s voice came over the speaker.

“If we ferment the porch, we could make ascetic acid.” Harriet proposed.

“Not nearly quick enough or strong enough to defeat the Slitheen, we’d probably need a whole entire gallon of acid per Slitheen. And we wouldn’t even have enough for one.” Rebecca told her. “Even if it was strong enough, they’ll have gone nuclear by then.”   
**  
** “Mickey, any luck?”  
**  
** “There's loads of emergency numbers - they're all on voicemail.” Rebecca gazed over at the Doctor who had a glazed over look in his eyes, he was deep in thought.

“Voicemail dooms us all.” Harriet said.  
**  
** “If we could just get out of here...”  
**  
** “There's a way out.”  
**  
** “What?” Rose ran over to him.

“There's always been a way out.”

“Doc, we have a dying man here and you’re just telling me this now!”

**“** Then why don't we use it Doctor?” The Doctor walked over to the table and spoke into the phone.

“Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe.”  
**  
** “Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare. “ Jackie yelled at him.  
**  
** “That's the thing, if I don't dare, everyone dies.”  
**  
** “Do it.” Rose announced without a second thought.

“You don't even know what it is, you'd just let me?” The Doctor looked at her incredulously.  
  
“Yeah.”

“Please, Doctor. Please! She's my daughter, she's just a kid!”  
**  
** “Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie, it's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will.”  
  
**“** Then what're you waiting for?” Rose’s voice was soft. The Doctor looked up at her.

“I could save the world but lose you.” They gazed intensely into each other’s eyes and Rebecca desperately wished for a camera to capture the sweet moment. However the moment was soon interrupted by a cough from Indra.

“Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine.” Harriet said firmly.  
  
“And who the hell are you? “  
**  
** “Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people, and on behalf of the people I command you. Do it.”

“Rebecca are you in?”

“Like you even have to ask.” She laughed.  “Let’s do this… whatever it is.”

“How do we get out?” Rose asked as she hopped up on the Table.

“We don't. We stay here.”

“I hate to break it to you Doc, but staying here is not getting out of here.” The Doctor began shuffling through the emergency protocols.

“No, we’re getting out Rebecca without having to leave the room.”

“You’re not doing what I think you’re doing Doc?”

“Use the buffalo password, it overrides everything.” He told Mickey ignoring Rebecca’s questions.

“Doc, you can’t be serious.”

“What're you doing?” Jackie asked.  
**  
** “Never thought I’d say this but hacking into the Royal Navy.  We're in. Here it is, uh... H.M.S. Taurean, Trafalgar Class Submarine, 10 miles off the coast of Plymouth.”

“Right, we need to select a missile.”  
**  
** “We can't go nuclear; we don't have the defense codes.”  
**  
** “We don't need it, all we need is an ordinary missile. What's the first category?”  
**  
** “Sub Haffoon, UGMA4A.”  
**  
** “That's the one. Select.”

“Ready for this?” The Doctor asked and the line went silent for a few moments.

“Yeah.”

“Mickey the Idiot. The world is in your hands. Fire.”

“Oh, my God.” Jackie said. “It’s working.”

“How solid are these?” Harriet asked as she tapped on one of the metal shutters.  
**  
** “Not solid enough, built for short range attack, nothing this big.” The Doctor replied.  
**  
** “Alright. Now I'm making the decision. I'm not gonna die, we're gonna ride this one out.” Rose pulled open a cupboard. “It's like what they say about earthquakes, you can survive 'em by standing under a doorframe. Now this cupboard's small so it's strong. Come and help me! Come on!”

“Doc, help me with Indra I can’t carry him.” The Doctor ran over to her and picked the man up carrying him into the Cupboard.

“It's on radar. Counter defense 556.”

“Stop them intercepting it.” Rebecca told him.  
**  
** “I'm doing it now. “  
  
“Thanks Mickey.”

“556 neutralized.”

“Perfect.”

“Rebecca grab that phone and get in here now!” The Doctor ordered and Rebecca knew that there wasn’t much time left so she pulled the mobile off the speaker and ran into the cupboard pulling the door shut behind her. The Doctor was setting Rose up in the corner, positioning himself protectively around her. Rebecca smiled at the pair and helped Indra get set up opposite them. Harriet sat beside Rebecca as she finished.

“Nice knowing you all.” Harriet said.

“Oh shut up. Have some faith.” Rebecca told her grabbing her hand. “We’re gonna be fine. Now hold on.” She said as the room began to shake severely. Soon it stopped and you could smell the smoke. Indra, began coughing. Rebecca immediately tore part of her shirt and held it to his nose.

“Breath with me Indra.” She told him as the Doctor helped Rose and Harriet up. They began clearing up the wreckage to get themselves out. The place was in ruins, still smoking but they were all alive and that was all that mattered. The Doctor hugged Rose tight and picked her up swinging her around.

“We’re alive!” he proclaimed, making her laugh.

The Sargent hurried over to them.“Are you alright?”

“This man needs medical attention stat. Broken hyoid bone, currently breathing due to an emergency tracheotomy.”

“I need a bus stat.” he said into his radio. “Anything else?”  
  
Harriet flashed him her ID badge. “Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact UN immediately, tell the ambassadors the crisis is over and they can step down. Go on, tell the news!”  
**  
** “Yes, ma'am.” He hurried away.

“Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, Lord! We haven't even got a Prime Minister!”  
**  
** “Well, maybe you should have a go.” The doctor suggested.  
**  
** “Me? I'm only a back-bencher.”  
**  
** “I'd vote for ya!” Rose encouraged.

“Me too if I were a citizen!” Rebecca assured her. Even Indra gave her the thumbs up.  
**  
** “Now, don't be silly. Look, I’d better go and see if I can help.” She climbed over the rubble towards a crowd of people outside the building. “The Earth is safe! Sergeant!” The paramedics quickly arrived and came toward them.

“He fractured his hyoid bone. I performed an emergency tracheotomy with what I had.”

“Not bad. Nice job. Do you want to ride in the bus with him?” the paramedic asked. Rebecca glanced back to the doctor and Rose who were walking slowly away out of the rubble.

“What hospital are you taking him to? I’ll come visit him. I need to change and such.”

“King’s County miss.”

“I’ll visit soon Indra. I promise.” She squeezed the man’s hand and kissed his forehead before running to catch up with the Doctor and Rose.

“I thought I knew the name. Harriet Jones - future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms - the architect of Britain's Golden Age. “  
**  
** “The crisis has passed! Ladies and Gentlemen - I have something to say to you all! Mankind stands tall - proud - and undefeated. God bless the human race.”

“Now to get back to Peckham.”

“Take a bus,” Rose yawned. The three walked to the bus stop where a surprised looking bus driver let them on.

“You look like you’ve been through hell,” he said eying Rebecca’s bloody and torn clothes.

“Eh not quite. Does this route take us near Powell Estates?” Rose asked.

“Yes miss. It’ll be a while though.”

“That’s fine. Come on guys.” She lead them to the bigger seat at the back of the bus that sat three people. Rebecca sat next to the window on one side and Rose took the other squashing the Doctor between them. The Doctor wrapped an arm around Rose who quickly nuzzled into his shoulder and fell asleep. Rebecca smiled at the pair once more wishing for a camera before looking away out the window. Rose was still asleep when they arrived at the Powell estates so the Doctor picked her up, bridal style in his arms and carried her off the bus, up the stairs and to her flat where Rebecca opened the door for him.

“Ro-“ Jackie called her name but Rebecca quickly shushed her.

“SHHH! She’s sleeping.” She whispered. Jackie quickly nodded and opened the door to Rose’s room, where the Doctor laid her down on her bed and kissed her forehead, quickly walking out to the TARDIS. Jackie stared at his retreating form when Rebecca came up to her.

“Tell Rose, we’re on the TARDIS when she wakes up. She’s had a long day, we all have so please just let her sleep Jackie.” Rebecca quickly followed the Doctor back to the TARDIS and followed him inside.

“What’s with the Graffiti on the Tardis? Bad Wolf? What’s that all about?”  Rebecca asked.

“It was some kid. I’ll make him clean it up later. We need to talk about what happened today.” The Doctor told her.

“Can I shower first? I’m covered in Indra’s blood and grime.” He gave her a quick nod and she ran off to the shower, peeling off the layers of clothing that clung to her body. She sang a few songs, rocking out under the fountain of water, washing away all the problems and worries of the day. She emerged maybe half an hour later to the console room ready to talk.

“Doc, when the Slitheen were trying to kill us they could smell our hormones, adrenaline and age but they didn’t smell me quite right.”

“What d’ya mean?”

“They said I was too perfect, too in control. And that I smelled sort of sterile. I can tell you I was freaking out so I don’t know what they meant by in control. What do you think they meant by that?”

“Dunno, maybe has something to do with your genetics. We could check those out if you want.”

“If you don’t mind.”

“We got time to kill Rose’ll be out for a few hours most likely. Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I don’t get a lot of sleep normally so when I sleep for seven hours once, I’m good for about two days.”

“That’s not normal.” The doctor gave her a look but Rebecca simply shrugged.

“Normal is overrated. Now come on tell me why I’m weird to the Slitheen.” She ran to the medical bay and hopped up on a table. The Doctor took a machine and pricked Rebecca’s finger and it began to run a full bioscan.

“Impossible.” He muttered looking at the results.

“What’s impossible Doc?”

“Your genes… well you are honestly the definition of genetic lotto win at this point.”

“How?” she asked trying to read the results.

“You have no genetic precursors to any diseases… at all. No cancer, no hypertension, no obesity, no diabetes, no high cholesterol. Strong immune system.”

“But I know for a fact that my father is hypertensive and has high cholesterol and my mother is prehypertensive. I should definitely at least have that in there.”

“You could’ve received all the recessive traits. It’s bloody fantastic having your genetics. But none of this makes sense.” He shook his head.  “I might have to check back in your timeline. Regardless, that wasn’t what I wanted to discuss.” Rebecca took a breath. _Here we go._

 “What you did today, saving Indra was fantastic. Really fantastic.”

“It was nothing.” She brushed it off once more.

“No that wasn’t nothing. Why can’t you accept that you did something great?”

“Because whatever I do is never good enough Doctor. That’s what I’ve always been told.” She confessed.

“You’re brilliant Rebecca.”

“So you say. Look I just want to go to a book store.”

“Rebecca,” he tried to get in a word but she wouldn’t let him.

“I’m working on it okay Doc? I’m screwed up. I know that. My parents told me that I was never good enough, that I never would be, and that I’m a worthless brat. And it’s gonna take a lot more than one good deed for me to accept that I can do something right.” She had tears threatening to fall and she stared at the doctor. He opened his arms wide and pulled her into a hug. She sniffled back the tears and looked up into his eyes.

“Just take me to a book store. Please.” She begged. He nodded at her and he set the coordinates of a local book store and the TARDIS dematerialized into an alley and Rebecca climbed out.

“I’ll be back soon, come in after me if I take more than an hour.” She told him. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He was just glad that for therapy she went binge book shopping instead of blowing things up like Ace had when she had traveled with him.

Rebecca found the A-level prep books in the back of the store and picked out four subjects she thought would be good for Rose and made her purchases quickly returning to the TARDIS.

“Buy out the store?”

“The books aren’t for me. You have a library the size of my high school, I doubt I’ll need new books for at least a century. Can we visit Indra?.” She pleaded.

“I don’t do clean up Rebecca.”

“It’s not clean up! I’m just checking on my so called ‘brilliant’ work. I want to make sure I didn’t cause him any permanent damage.” The Doctor instantly changed his mind about saying no. She thought she was a failure and this would prove her wrong.

“Alright. We’ll go.”

“Perfect! Now to King’s County!” The Doctor shook his head at her and followed her orders plugging in the coordinates to King’s County hospital. The two of them strode into reception and received Indra’s room number and found him.

Rebecca lightly rapt on the door in the hall. “Indra, it’s Rebecca.” She peered through the door way and saw him with a pad and paper on a table, sitting up smiling. He waved at her and gestured for her to come in.

“Oh you can’t talk? Sorry about that. It tends to happen with things like that.” She sat in the chair beside him. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Are you the one who performed a tracheostomy?” A doctor asked as they came in.

“Yes, I made do with what I had.”

“You did a fantastic job. He’s not gonna have any permanent damage. He’ll be back to normal in the next two weeks most likely. Are you a doctor?”

“No,” she shook her head.

“Well that’s even more spectacular. I’m very impressed. You should be proud of what you’ve done.” Rebecca smiled weakly and nodded a small thanks. “Oh and visiting hours are also over. You’ll have to leave soon.”

“Yes sir.” Rebecca told the man as he left.

“See told you, you did good.” The Doctor boasted.

“Glad you’re alright Indra.” Rebecca gave his hand a squeeze. He scribbled thank you on the note pad he had and Rebecca just smiled. “Get well soon Indra. Come on Doc let’s go.”  The pair made their way back to the TARDIS and furthermore to Powell estates.

Rose was watching Harriet Jones making a public dress on the Telly“Mankind stands tall - proud –“

“Harriet Jones. Who does she think she is? Look at her! Taking all the credit. Should be you on there. My daughter saved the world!” Jackie yelled at the television.

“I think Rebecca and the Doctor helped a bit...” Rose mused.  
  
“Oh, alright then. Them too. You should be given knighthoods.”

**“** That's not the way he does things. No fuss, he just... moves on. He's not that bad if you gave him a chance.”  
**  
** “He's good in a crisis, I'll give him that.”  
**  
** “Oh! Now the world has changed, you're saying nice things about him.” Rose teased.  
**  
** “Well, I reckon I've got no choice! There's no getting rid of him since you're infatuated.”  
  
“I'm not infatuated...” Rose blushed.

“Rose, What do they eat?” Jackie called from the kitchen.  
**  
** “How do you mean?”

“I was gonna do shepherd’s pie. All of us. A proper sit down. 'Cause... I'm ready to listen. I wanna learn about you and him and that life you lead. Only, I dunno, he's an alien. For all I know, he eats grass and safety pins and things.”

“He'll have shepherd pie. You're gonna cook for him?”  
**  
** “What's wrong with that?”  
**  
** “He's finally met his match.”   
**  
** “You're not too old for a slap, you know.” Rose giggled and met her mum in the kitchen.

“You should go visit your gran tomorrow. You'd better learn some French. I told her you were in France. I said you were au-pairing.” Rose’s phone rang, and the caller ID read the ‘TARDIS calling.’

“Hello?”

“Right, I'll be a couple of hours, then we can go.” The doctor said from the opposite end of the line.  
  
“You've got a phone?”  
  
**“** You think I can travel through space and time and I haven't got a phone? Like I said, couple of hours... I've just got to send out this dispersal...”

“Got it Doc! I cancelled out the Slitheen’s advertisement” Rebecca’s voice echoed over the line.  
**  
** “My mother's cooking.” Rose told them.

“Good! Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer.” The doctor said with a laugh.  
**  
** “She's cooking tea. For us.”

**“** I don't do that.”

“She wants to get to know you.”

“Tough! I've got better things to do!”

“Rude Doc!” Rebecca piped in.   
**  
** “It's just tea.”  
**  
** “Not to me it isn't.”  
**  
** “She's my mother.”  
**  
** “Well, she's not mine!”  
**  
** “That's not fair!”  
**  
** “Well, you can stay there if you want! But right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the horse head nebula. Fires are burning 10 million miles wide. I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out - hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere. Your choice.” And with that he clicked the line dead and Rose ran into her room to pack some things for their travels. There was no chance she was missing out on this storm thing the Doctor had blabbered about.

“Don't go, sweetheart.” Her mother begged from the doorway. Rose paused for a moment but then continued packing. This was her life now and she would live it to the fullest.

The Doctor had found the little boy who had graffitied the TARDIS and had made him clean it up.

“Good Lad. Now off you go.” Rebecca walked over to Mickey who was sitting on a nearby trash tin.

“I just went down the shop. And I was thinking, you know, like the whole world's changed. Aliens and spaceships all in public. And here it is.” A newspaper headlined “Alien Hoax” popped out from the front page. “How could they do that? They saw it!”

“People only see what they want to see.”   
**  
** “They're just not ready. You're happy to believe in something that's invisible, but if it's staring you in the face - nope! Can't see it! There's a scientific explanation for that. You're thick.” The Doctor mused. Mickey laughed.

“We're just idiots.”  
**  
** “Well, not all of you.”

“Yeah?” Mickey asked surprised.

“He means me.” Rebecca teased. Mickey sent her a glare and she laughed. “You too.”

“Present for you, Mickey. That’s a virus. Put it online, it'll destroy every mention of me. I'll cease to exist.” The Doctor told him.

“What do you want to do that for?”  
**  
** “'Cos you're right. I am dangerous. I don't want anybody following me.”

“How can you say that - and then take her with you?” Mickey gestured to Rose who had just exited her flat with Jackie.

“You could look after her and come with us!”

“Yeah! Come on Mickey mouse!”

“I can't. This life of yours... it's just too much, I... I couldn't do it.  Don’t tell her I said that.” He said looking at Rose. Rebecca nodded.

“My lips are sealed.”

“I'll get a proper job. I'll work weekends, I'll pass my test and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will.” Jackie begged Rose as they got closer and closer to the TARDIS.  
**  
** “I'm not leaving 'cos of you. I'm travelling, that's all. And then I'll come back!” **  
** “But it's not safe.”  
**  
** “Mum... if you saw it out there... you'd never stay home.” She took off her backpack handing it to Rebecca. She already had three duffle bags on the ground with her.

“Got enough stuff?” The Doctor asked sarcastically.  
**  
** “Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment.” She threw one of the bags at him. “Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me. Haha.” She went over to Mickey and smiled at him.

“Come with us. There's plenty of room.”

“No chance, he's ah, a liability, I'm not having him on board.” The doctor said as to keep with Mickey’s request.  
**  
** “We'd be dead without him. “  
**  
** “My decision is final.”

“Sorry.” She kissed him on the cheek and walked back toward the TARDIS.

“Good luck, then.” He told her with a small wave.  
**  
** “You still can't promise me. What if she gets lost? What if something happens to you, Doctor, and she's left all alone standing on some moon a million light years away - how long do I wait then?” Jackie questioned the Doctor backing him into the door of the TARDIS.

“Mum...You're forgetting - it's a time machine. I could go travelling around suns and planets and all the way out to the edge of the universe and by the time I get back, yeah - ten seconds would have passed. Just ten seconds. So stop worrying. See you in ten seconds time. Hmm?” She hugged her Mum goodbye and followed Rebecca and the Doctor into the TARDIS.

“So to the Horse head nebula ladies and we’ll see where we go from there!” The Doctor told the girls flipping something on the console.

“Hold on!”

 


	9. Dalek

The Tardis materialized and Rebecca looked at the console monitor, trying to figure out what was happening and why they were being pulled out of the horsehead nebula.

“So, what is it? What's wrong?” Rose asked.  
  
“Don't know, some kind of signal drawing the TARDIS off course...”the Doctor told her.

“Seems like a distress signal of sorts Doc….”

“Where are we?”

“Welcome to my Homeland guys! We’re in America!” Rebecca cheered. “We’re in Utah, which is more towards the west coast, still inland and it seems like we’re… half a mile underground? That’s weird. Wonder why.”  
  
“And... when are we?”  
  
“2012.” The Doctor replied as he opened the Tardis and exited with Rose, Rebecca quickly following them.   
  
“God, that's so close, so I should be... 26.. and Rebecca you’d be 24.”

“I’d be out of college by now if I actually went.” She mused. Suddenly the lights flooded the room and the Doctor looked up from the switch with a proud expression on his face.

“Blimey! It's a great big museum!”  
  
“An alien museum. Someone's got a hobby. They must've spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorite, moon dust... that's the milometer from the Roswell Spaceship.” He began pointing out the different artifacts to Rose and Rebecca.

“Wait Doc, Roswell was really Aliens?”

“Of course it was!” Rose passed a case and noticed that it looked familiar. When she recognized what it was she looked slightly horrified.

“That's a bit of Slitheen! That's a Slitheen's arm, it's been stuffed.” Rebecca was preoccupied, looking at a silver metal head across from it.

“Doc, what’s this?”

“Ah! Look at you! This girls, is an old friend of mine... well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old.”

“Well you are 900 doc. I wouldn’t exactly call you a spring chicken.” Rebecca teased.  
  
“Is that where the signal's coming from?” Rose asked him.  
  
“Nah, it's stone dead. The signal's alive. Something's reaching out. Calling for help.” He had risen his hand to touch the glass.

“Doc! Don’t touch the-“ but he already had pressed his finger to the glass setting off a loud alarm. “glass.” She finished the phrase, glaring at him. Rose laughed but instantly stopped when she heard the footsteps of many soldiers coming toward them.

“Doctor, if someone's collecting aliens, that makes you Exhibit A.” The Doctor flashed a grin at the soldiers who had just arrived and Rebecca just shook her head. Second time in a row that they were getting arrested. It wasn’t fun this time. They arrived in an office where a young man maybe Rose’s age, who was obviously British was showing off some artifacts to the man behind the desk.

“And this is the last... paid $800,000 for it.” He said handing it to the middle aged man behind the desk, clearly an American.

“What does it do?”

“Well you see, the tubes on the side must be to channel something, I think maybe fuel...”  
  
“I really wouldn't hold it like that.” The Doctor said warningly.  
  
“Shut it.” The woman who had escorted them barked.

“Really, though, that's wrong.” The Doctor said once more.  
  
“Is it dangerous?” the young man asked.  
  
“No. Just looks silly.” He held out a hand expectantly and all of the security in the room readied their guns. The man held up a hand to stop the guards and handed the doctor the artifact. 

“You just need to be…” as the doctor ran his fingers over the tubes, it started playing a sweet sound, like a harmonica. “delicate.”

“It's a musical instrument.”

The Doctor nodded, “And it's a long way from home.” He handed it over to Rebecca who delicately stroked it a few times starting to play a simple melody that she remembered from her childhood. The Doctor gave her a confused look, that melody sounded a lot like a lullaby from Gallifrey. Rebecca passed it onto Rose who had delicately played a few notes when the man grabbed it from her.

“Here, let me.” It started making a series of bleeping notes, as if it were out of tune.

“I did say 'delicate'. Reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision.” The man then began touching it more gently and it began to play a few notes. “Very good. Quite the expert.”  
  
“As are you.” The man tossed the instrument aside, where it landed somewhere on the floor. Rebecca and the Doctor eyes followed it, alarmed.

“Who exactly are you?” The man demanded.

“I'm the Doctor. And who are you?”  
  
“Like you don't know. We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artifacts in the world and you just stumbled in by mistake.” The man scoffed.  
  
“Pretty much sums us up, yeah.”  
  
“The question is, how did you get in? 53 floors down. With your little cat burglar accomplices.” He looked at Rose lustily and she glared back at him. He moved onto look at Rebecca who rolled her eyes at him. “Quite a collector yourself, she's rather pretty.”

“She's gonna smack you if you keep calling her 'she'.” Rose growled.  
  
“She's English too! Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy - got you a girlfriend.” He said to the young man who had given him the artifact.  
  
“This is Mr. Henry Van Statten.”  
  
“And who's he when he's at home?” Rebecca asked.

“Oh and an American. International taste Doctor.” Rebecca was trying hard restrain herself from slapping him.  
  
“Mr. Van Statten owns the Internet.” The young man proceeded.  
  
“Don't be stupid, no one owns the Internet.” Rose argued.  
  
“And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?” Van Statten laughed.  
  
“So you're an expert on just about everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up.” The Doctor said bitterly.  
  
“And you claim greater knowledge?”  
  
“I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am.” The doctor boasted. Normally Rebecca would’ve chided him for being full of himself but for once the Doctor was actually right in his boasting.  
  
“And yet, I captured you. Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?”  
  
“You tell me.”  
  
“The cage contains my one living specimen.” Van Statten told them proudly.  
  
“And what's that?”  
  
“Like you don't know.”

“Show me.” The Doctor said firmly.  
  
“You wanna see it?”  
  
“Blimey, you can smell the testosterone.” Rose whispered to Rebecca who sniggered.  
  
“Goddard - inform the Cage. We're heading down. You - English. Look after the girls. Canoodle or spoon, or whatever it is you British do. And you - Doctor with no name...Come and see my pet.” The Doctor looked to the girls and nodded at them. 

“Be Careful. Rebecca keep Rose out of trouble. Rose keep Rebecca out of trouble. Stay safe.”

“Always.” Rose nodded at him and he smiled before proceeding to follow Van Statten down to the cage.

“We've tried everything. The creatures has... shielded itself but there's definite signs of life inside.” He entered a code into the door and the cage opened.

“Inside? Inside what?”  
  
“Welcome back, sir. I've had to take the power down - the Metaltron is resting.” A worker said to Van Statten.  
  
“Metaltron?”  
  
“Thought of it myself. Good, isn't it? Although I'd much to prefer to find out its real name.” The doctor rolled his eyes. Metaltron was not anywhere close to being a good name.  
  
“Here, you'd better put these on.” The worker said offering the doctor a pair of gloves. “The last guy that touched it... burst into flames.”

“I won't touch it then.”

“Go ahead, Doctor. Impress me.” Van Statten challenged. The Doctor stepped into the cage and began to talk to the so called ‘metaltron.’  
“Look, I'm sorry about this. Mr. Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor.”  
  
“Doc-tor.” The voice said in a mechanical tone. The Doctor stood jaw dropped shocked.

“Impossible.”  
  
“THE Doctor?” Suddenly the lights flashed on and the doctor’s fears were confirmed. A Dalek was in the cell with him. The metal creature was wrapped in chains. How was it possible? Hadn’t he destroyed Skaro during the time war along with all the Daleks? “Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!”

The Doctor ran to the door and began pounding on it. “Let me out!” he begged. He was not gonna let a Dalek get him.

“You are an enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!” The Dalek started waving its gun around helplessly but it wasn’t working. The doctor suddenly began to grin widely.

“It’s not working!! Fantastic! Oh, fantastic! Powerless! Look at you. The Great Space Dustbin. How does it feel?” He lunged toward the Dalek who strained against its chains.

“Keep back!” The Doctor just moved closer looking straight into its eyepiece.

“What for? What're you going to do to me?  If you can't kill... then what are you good for, Dalek? What's the point of you?” He circled the Dalek, who followed with its eyepiece. “You’re nothing. What the hell are you here for?”

“I am waiting for orders.” The Dalek said.  
  
“What does that mean?”  
  
“I am a soldier. I was bred to receive orders.”   
  
“Well you're never gonna get any. Not ever.”  
  
“I demand orders!”  
  
“They're never gonna come! Your race is dead! You all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire - the entire Dalek race wiped out in one second.” The Doctor yelled.  
  
“You lie!”

“I watched it happen. I MADE it happen!” He was almost proud of what he had done at that moment.  
  
“You destroyed us?” and suddenly that pride was gone and the sorrow and the guilt filled him once more. He had stopped the war at the highest cost.

“I had no choice.”   
  
“And what of the Time Lords?”

“Dead. They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost.” No one more than him. Everything was gone.  
  
“And the coward survived.” The Dalek said angering the doctor.  
  
“Oh - and I caught your little signal... help me... poor little thing...” The Doctor mocked. “But there's no one else coming 'cos there's no one else left.”

“I am alone in the Universe.” The Dalek cast it’s glance towards the ground.  
  
“Yep.” The Doctor smiled.  
  
“So are you.” The smile was instantly wiped from his face. “We are the same.”

“We're not the same, I'm not-- No - wait. Maybe we are. You're right, yeah, okay. You've got a point. 'Cos I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve.  Exterminate.” The doctor pulled a lever on the control panel and the Dalek was engulfed in an electric shock and started screaming.  
  
“Have pity!”  
  
“Why should I? You never did.” With a maniacal laugh the Doctor increased the voltage shocking the Dalek. The Dalek continued to plead for mercy and the Doctor went to increase the voltage once more when security burst into the room and grabbed the Doctor. Van Statten strode in and approached the Dalek.

“I saved your life, now talk to me! Goddamn it, talk to me!”  
  
“You've got to destroy it!” The Doctor yelled as he was being dragged away.  
  
“The last in the Universe. And now I know your name. Dalek. Speak to me, Dalek.” The Dalek didn’t respond. “I am Henry van Statten, now recognize me!” But once more the Dalek remained silent. Van Statten turned to the man who had helped him before. “Make it talk again, Simmons. Whatever it takes.”

* * *

 

The girls however had followed the young man down stairs to his workshop. “Sorry about the mess. Mr. Van Statten sort of lets me do my own thing. So long as I deliver the goods... I’m Adam.”

“Rose.”

“Rebecca.” Rose and Rebecca started looking at the different objects littering the tables. Rose was looking at a piece of metal. 

“What do you think - that is?” Adam asked her.

“Er... a lump of metal?” Rose queried.  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, but I think-- well, I'm almost certain - it's from the hull of a spacecraft.” Rebecca shook her head.

“That’s not alien.” Rebecca told him examining it. “That’s a melted tail pipe from a car that’s been sculpted.”  Adam stared at her.

“Really?”

“Yeah, Sorry.” She walked around the table but tripped on the leg, falling to the ground.

“Ouch!” she hissed, grabbing her ankle.

“Becks you alright?” Rose said getting down beside her.

“It’s just a sprain. I’ve had them enough. Can you just get me a chair, preferably one with wheels?” Adam rushed over with a wheely chair from his desk and helped Rebecca into it.

“Sure you’re okay Rebecca?”

“Fine, the Doc will fix me up later, continue with what you we’re saying about Aliens.”

“The thing is, it's all true. Everything the United Nations tries to keep quiet – space crafts - aliens - visitors to Earth - they really exist.”  
  
“That's amazing.” Rose feigned excitement.  
  
“I know it sounds incredible, but I honestly believe that the whole universe is teeming with life.”  
  
“I'm gob-smacked, yeah. And you do what? Sit here and catalogue it?” Rebecca exaggerated.  
  
“Best job in the world.”  
  
“Imagine if you could get out there. Travel amongst the stars and see it for real.” Rose said. Rebecca immediately shot her a look. The Doctor would not be happy if Rose brought on some pretty boy.  
  
“Yeah... I'd give anything. But I don't think it's ever gonna happen - not in our lifetimes. “  
  
“Oh, you never know... what about all those people who say they've been inside spaceships and things and talked to aliens?”  
  
“I think they're nutters.” Adam said bluntly.  
  
“Yeah, me too.”

“Ditto.” Rebecca added. The three of them laughed. “So Adam how’d you end up here?

“Van Statten has agents all over the world looking for geniuses to recruit.”  
  
“Ah, right, you're a genius.”

“Sorry, but yeah... can't help it, I was born clever. When I was eight, I logged onto the US Defense System - nearly caused World War Three.” Rose laughed thinking about their recent adventure in London. Rose caught Rebecca’s eye and the two shared a grin.

“Well you should've been there! Just to see them running about! Fantastic!”  
  
“You sound like the Doctor.” Rose said.  
  
“Are you and him...?”  
  
“No, we're just friends.” _They are more than just friends they need to get over it._ Rebecca thought.

“Good.” He said with a smile.  
  
“Why's it good?” Rose asked shyly. Rebecca rolled her eyes. Even she who had no experience with flirting at least recognized it.  
  
“Just is.” There was a tense silence

“So... wouldn't you rather be downstairs? I mean, you've got these bits of metal and stuff, but Mr Van Statten's got a living creature down there.” Rebecca asked Adam just trying to get him to stop flirting with Rose.

“Yeah... yeah well I did ask but he keeps it to himself. Although - if you're a genius - it doesn’t take long to patch in on the comms system.”  
  
“Let's have a look then.”

“It doesn't do much - the alien. It's weird, it's kind of... useless, it's just like this... great big pepper pot.” He tapped a few keys and then they accessed the screen, watching the Dalek being tortured by a man.

“It's being tortured! Where's the Doctor?” Rose asked.  
  
“I don't know.”  
  
“Take me down there. Now.” She demanded as she strode out of the room.

“Rose wait! We need a plan first.” But Rose was long gone. Rebecca went to get up but Adam held up a hand to her.

“Relax. I got her.”  Adam went to go after her.

“Adam, wait.” He stopped and looked at Rebecca, trying to slyly catch a glimpse of her cleavage. “Eyes up here boy. Anyway, quick warning. Rose is my best friend. If you hurt her or even make an inappropriate derogatory pass at her, I will find a way to hurt you. And if for some odd reason I can’t find a way to do it. I’m sure the Doctor will.” Adam let out an audible gulp.

“Are we clear Adam?”

“Yes ma’am.” He said quickly running out of the room. Rebecca let out a soft laugh and continued sorting through all of the so called Alien artifacts. She kept up the communications system and watched the camera, just to keep track of them. At least she could see where they were and what they were doing if she couldn’t be there.

* * *

 

The Doctor and Van Statten were in a lift discussing the encounter they had just had with the Dalek. “The metal's just battle armor - the real Dalek creature's inside.”  
  
“What does it look like?”  
  
“A nightmare. It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered - every single emotion was removed except hate.”  
   
“Genetically engineered... by whom?” he asked impressed.    
  
“By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world - you'd like him.”    
  
“It's been on Earth for over fifty years - sold at a private auction moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?” Van Statten’s assistant informed the pair.  
  
“Because I'm here. How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?”  
  
“Records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands - burnt in its crater for nearly three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must've gone insane.”  
  
“Must've fallen through time. The only survivor.” The Doctor said sadly.  
  
“You talked about a war?”  
  
“The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek race.” The doctor gave a solemn nod.  
  
“But you survived too.” Van Statten stated.  
  
“Not by choice.”  
  
“This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth, Doctor, there's you. The only one of your kind in existence.” Van Statten ushered him into another room.The lights flashed on and the guards strapped him against a rack and stripped him of his jumper and leather jacket. He probably shouldn’t have mentioned the fact he was an Alien. Rose was right. 

“Now, smile!” Van Statten grinned as he performed a scan on the Doctor. The Doctor moaned in pain, struggling against the chains.

“Two hearts! Binary vascular system! Oh, I am so going to patent this. “  
  
“So that's your secret. You don't just collect this stuff, you scavenge it.” The Doctor yelled.  
  
“This technology has been falling to Earth for centuries. All it took was the right mind to use it properly. Oh, the advances I've made from alien junk, you have no idea, Doctor. Broadband? Roswell. Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian Crater, and do you know what they found? The cure for the common cold. Kept it strictly within the laboratory of course, no need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?” He smiled smugly.

 _“_ Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do for the survival of its species - that creature in your dungeon is better than you. “  
  
“In that case, I will be true to myself and continue.”

“Listen to me, that thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us!” The Doctor’s voice was frantic. He needed to get back to Rose and Rebecca. They had no idea what to do against a Dalek.”  
  
“Nothing can escape the Cage.” Van Statten confidently stated running another scan and the doctor began writhing in pain.

“But it's woken up! It knows I'm here! It's gonna get out! Van Statten, I swear no one on this base is safe! No one on this planet!”

* * *

 

“Hold it right there!” The man said to Rose and Adam who had reached the cage.  
  
“Level three access. Special clearance from Mr. Van Statten.” Adam said flashing his ID to the man who allowed them through. Rose approached the Dalek.

“Don't get too close...” Adam warned. Rose slowly walked up to the creature.

“Hello?”

 _“_ Are you in pain? My name's Rose Tyler. I've got a friend, he can help. He's called the Doctor. What's your name?   
  
“Yes.”

“What?” The eyepiece moved up to her face.

“I am in pain. They tortured me. But still they fear me. Do you fear me?”  
  
“No.” Rose said

“I am dying.”  
  
“No, we can help!”  
  
“I welcome death. But I am glad... that before I die... I met a human who was not afraid.”

“Isn't there anything I can do?” Rose asked it.  
  
“My race is dead. I shall die alone.” Rose had tears in her eyes. She laid a hand on the Dalek in an attempt to comfort it.

“Rose, no!” Adam cried out. The place where her hand was on the Dalek suddenly glowed a bright orange and Rose pulled back.

“Genetic material extrapolated - initiate cellular reconstruction!” Suddenly the Dalek burst free from its chains and sparks began flying.

“You two get out of there!” Rebecca cried over the intercom. Rose and Adam ran toward the door as Simmons, the worker in the cage yelled at them.

“What the hell have you done? Whatcha gonna do? Sucker me to death?” The man taunted the creature, but the Dalek proceeded to do just that, placing the sucker over the man’s face. A loud crack rang out.

“It's killing him! Do something!” Rose begged.

“Condition red! Repeat, condition red! This is not a drill!” The voice said over the loudspeaker. From the room outside the cage, a video link was opened to Mr. Van Statten’s office.  The Doctor was pulling on his jumper as the link opened. He winced as he pulled it on. Rebecca pulled up Van Statten’s office on her monitor.

“Doc, you okay?”

“Rebecca where are you?”

“Adam’s workshop… I twisted my ankle. But are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine. Whatever you do, You've got to keep it in that cell.”  
  
“Doctor, it's all my fault.” Rose said sadly.  
  
“I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations.” The person working at the cage said.  
  
“The Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat.” Rebecca watched the other screen alongside the Doctor and stared horrified.

“It already has. Rose, Adam, Move!” Adam and Rose started running behind the security and out of the cage area.

“Open fire!” and all the security began shooting.

“Don’t shoot it I want it unharmed!” Van Statten ordered. The Bullets weren’t causing any effect on the Dalek regardless.

“De Maggio - take the civilians and get them out alive. That is your job, got that?”  
  
“You - with me.” The woman, DeMaggio ordered to the pair. The two exited the room as the Dalek approached the screen displaying the Doctor, Van Statten and his assistant. The Dalek smashed right through it and the electricity caused by the circuit breakage began to shock it again. But the damage it had didn’t last long as the metal began bending back into shape.

“We're losing power. It's draining the base. Oh, my God. It's raiding entire power supplies for the whole of Utah.” Goddard, Van Statten’s assistant said.  
  
“It's downloading.” The Doctor told them.  
  
“Downloading what?” Van Statten ordered.  
  
“Sir, the entire West Coast has gone down.” Goddard told him frantically.  
  
“It's not just energy. That Dalek just absorbed the entire Internet. It knows everything.” And that clearly wasn’t a good sign.

“Sir, the cameras in the vault have gone down.”  
  
“We've only got emergency power, it's eaten everything else, you've got to kill it now!”  
  
“All guards to converge in the Metaltron cage, immediately.” Goddard yelled over the loudspeaker.

“Civilians let me through.” De Maggio ordered weaving her way with Adam, Rebecca and Rose through the security guards getting out of the line of fire.

“Tell them to stop shooting at it! “  
  
“It's killing them!” Goddard ordered.  
  
“They're dispensable, that Dalek is unique.” Switching to the intercom, “I don't want a scratch on its body work? Do you hear me? Do you hear me?” But there was silence on the other end. There was no one to hear his ordered. All the soldiers lay dead upon the ground.

“That's us right below the surface. That's the cage - and that's the Dalek.” Goddard pointed out a blue dot.

“This museum of yours - have you got any alien weapons?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Lots of them, but the trouble is the Dalek's between us and them.”  
  
“We've got to keep that thing alive. We could just seal the entire vault, trap it down there.”

“I can still hear you and Van Statten… ARE YOU MAD?” Rebecca yelled at the screen.  
  
“Leaving everyone trapped with it? Rose is down there. I won't let that happen. Have you got that?” Rebecca cheered inwardly about how the Doctor was more worried about Rose than anything else. “It's got to go through this area. What's that?”  
  
“Weapons testing.”  
  
“Give guns to the lawyers, technicians, anyone. Everyone. Only then have you got a chance of killing it.” Goddard nodded.

“STAIRS! That’s more like it!” Rose yelled. “It hasn't got legs, it's stuck!”  
  
“It's coming! Get up!” DeMaggio yelled at them. The two followed her orders and ran up the stairs, peeking over the banisters watching the Dalek. It stopped at the foot of the stairs and they all sighed in relief.

“Great big alien death machine. Defeated by a flight of stairs.” Adam mocked.

“Adam don’t do that!” Rebecca told him.

“Now, listen to me. I demand that you return to your cage. If you want to negotiate, then I guarantee that Mr Van Statten will be willing to talk. I accept that we imprisoned you and maybe that was wrong. But people have died, and that stops. Right now. The killing stops, have you got that?” The Dalek merely watched DeMaggio through it’s eyestalk, not giving a response. “I demand that you surrender, is that clear?”

“El-ev-ate.” Suddenly the Dalek rose up into the air, hovering over the ground.

“Oh my God.” Rose said.

“Shit.” Rebecca muttered.  “RUN!”

“Adam, get her out of here!” DeMaggio yelled.

“Come with us, you can't stop it!” Rose begged.  
  
“Someone's got to try. Now get out! Don’t look back just run!” Rose just ran alongside Adam trying not to look at the Dalek. They had reached the next landing  when they heard the extermination beam and a scream. DeMaggio was gone.

“I thought you were the great expert, Doctor. If you're so impressive, then why not just reason with this Dalek? It must be willing to negotiate - there must be something it needs, everything needs something.”

“Van Statten’ what’s the nearest town?”

“Salt lake City.”  
  
“Population?”

“One million.”  
  
“All dead. If the Dalek gets out, it'll murder every living creature, that's all it needs.”  
  
“But why would it do that?!” Van Statten was infuriated, finally starting to realize that the dalek wouldn’t rest until every human was dead.  
  
“Because it honestly believes they should die. Human beings are different, and anything different is wrong. It's the ultimate in racial cleansing and you, Van Statten, you've let it loose!” the Doctor turned on the intercom and spoke to the soldiers in weapons testing. “The Dalek's surrounded by a force field. The bullets are melting before they even hit home but it's not indestructible. If you concentrate your fire, you might get through. Aim for the dome, the head, the eyepiece. That's the weak spot. “  
  
“Thank you, Doctor, but I think I know how to fight one single tin robot. Positions!” Rose and Adam came into view on the camera and the Doctor let out a sigh of relief, glad to see they were alright and on their way to him.

“You two, get the hell out of there!” They had just reached the door when the Dalek came into view and they stopped. The Dalek seemed to be staring straight at Rose.

“Rose you’ve got to go. The Doctor’s waiting.”

“It was looking at me.”  
  
“Yeah, it wants to slaughter us!” Adam pulled her hand but she pulled it back.

“I know! But it was looking right at me.”  
  
“So? It's just a sort of metal eye thing, it's looking all around!”

“No, Adam. Rose is right it looked at her specifically.”  
  
“I don't know... it's like there's something inside looking at me, like... like it knows me."

“Rose, you touched it right?” she asked via intercom.

“Yeah obviously?”

“It said it was extrapolating your genetics… it does know you… it has your DNA.”

“On my Mark…” the Commander yelled.

“We have to keep moving. Come on.” Adam yelled running ahead of Rose.

“Open fire!” All the soldiers began shooting at the Dalek, but the forcefield stopped the bullets once more.

“We've got vision.”

“It wants us to see.” The Doctor said, the Dalek stared straight at the camera, and began to elevate toward the ceiling. It fired its beam at the fire sprinklers and the water began to fall from the ceiling onto the soldiers. The Dalek then fired at a man with his feet firmly planted on the wet ground. He and the rest of the team except for the commander and another soldier, dropped like flies electrocuted by the beam.

“Perhaps it's time for a new strategy, maybe we should consider abandoning this place.” Van Statten proposed by all he had just seen.

“Except there's no power to the helipad, sir. We can't get out.” Goddard said bitterly.

“You said you could seal the vault.” The Doctor suggested.

“It was designed to be a bunker. In the event of nuclear war, steel bulkheads—“

“There's not enough power, those bulkheads are massive.”

“We've got emergency power, we can re-route that to the bulkhead doors.” The doctor told her.

“We'd have to bypass the security codes, that would take a computer genius!”

“Good thing you've got me, then.” Van Statten said immediately sitting down at the computer

“You want to help?”

“I don't want to die, Doctor, simple as that. Nobody knows this software better than me.” Suddenly the Dalek appeared on the camera showing footage from the Basement.

“I shall speak only to the Doctor.” The Doctor got up and straightened himself out, keeping his eyes on the Dalek.

“You're gonna get rusty.”

“I fed off the DNA of Rose Tyler. Extrapolating the biomass of a time traveler regenerated me.”

“What's your next trick? “

“I have been searching for the Daleks.”

“Yeah, I saw. Downloading the Internet.” The Doctor walked around to a closer screen. “What did you find?”

“I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes.”

“And?”

“Nothing. Where shall I get my orders now?” The Dalek was scared and the Doctor could easily detect it in its voice.

“You're just a soldier without commands.”

“Then I shall follow the primary order - the Dalek instinct to destroy! To conquer!”

“What for? What's the point? Don't you see? It's all gone.  Everything you were, everything you stood for.”

“Then what should I do? “

“All right then. If you want orders... follow this one: kill yourself.”

“The Daleks must survive!”

“The Daleks have failed. Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct? Rid the Universe of your filth, why don't you just die?” The Doctor was angry, his words flew from his mouth, the passionate hatred spewing from his mouth. The Dalek remained silent for a moment.

“You would make a good Dalek.” And suddenly the screen went blank. The Doctor stared dumbstruck at the screen before he shook his head and continued formulating his plan.

“Seal the vaults.”

“I can leech power off the ground defenses, feed it to the bulkheads. It's been years since I had to work this fast.”

“Are you enjoying this?” The Doctor asked rolling his eyes.

“Doctor – they’re still down there.” Goddard interrupted them. The Doctor immediately took out his phone and called Rose.

“Not the best time Doctor.”

“Where are you?”

“Level 49.” Rose answered.

“You've got to keep moving - the vault's being sealed off, bulkhead level 46.”

“Can't you stop them closing?”

“I'm the one who's closing them. I can't wait and I can't help you. Now for God's sake, run.” He told them.

“Done it. We've got power to the bulkheads.”

“The Dalek's right behind them.”

“We're nearly there, give us two seconds.” Rose yelled into her phone as they rounded a corner onto floor 46.

“Doctor, I can't sustain the power. The whole system is failing.” The Doctor looked at him.

“Doctor, you've got to close the bulkheads.” Van Statten and Goddard looked at him. The doctor took a moment contemplating what he had to do. He couldn’t leave them behind, but he believed in them to get there in time.

“I'm sorry.” He said Rose over the phone as he hit the enter key. The bulkheads had were beginning to lower. Adam  was nearly there but Rose had lagged behind a little.

“Come on!” Adam yelled, rolling underneath the bulk head with only about a foot left of space… by the time she reached the same point, the Bulkhead was shut. She was trapped.

The Doctor stared intently at the screen, waiting for Rose to appear.

“The vault is sealed.” Van Statten told him.

“Rose, where are you? Rose, did you make it?” Rose leaned against the bulkhead steadying her breathing. Rebecca stared at the screen in horror.

“I guess I was too slow."

“See you then, Doctor.” Rose said. The Doctor stared horrified at the screen.

“It wasn't your fault. Remember that, okay? It wasn't your fault. And do you know what? I wouldn't have missed it for the world.” Rose said her voice shaking. Suddenly the Dalek approached her and she hit the end button. The Doctor did not need to listen to them die. He felt guilty for something that wasn’t his fault as it was. Rebecca stared unable to do anything.

“Exterminate!”

A silence filled Van Statten's office as the Doctor stared at the wall, his eyes tearing up.

"I killed her." He said.

"I'm sorry." Van Statten said to him.

"I said I'd protect her. She was only here because of me, and you're sorry? I could've killed that Dalek in its cell. But you stopped me." The Doctor said accusing him. It was Van Statten's fault that his Rose was dead.

"It was the prize of my collection!" Van Statten argued.

"Your collection? But was it worth it? Worth all those men's deaths? Worth Rose? Let me tell you something, Van Statten. Mankind goes into space to explore. To be part of something greater!"

"Exactly! I wanted to touch the stars!"

"You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground underneath tons of sand and dirt. And label them. You're about as far from the stars as you can get." The Doctor's face which was full of rage slowly contorted to mirror his grief. "And you took her down with you. She was nineteen years old." Suddenly the phone rang and the Doctor picked it up.

"Doc, we've got a little situation."

"Rose is dead Rebecca! I have bigger things to worry about!"

"If you shut it and listen to me you'd know that she isn't. I have her on live feed with the camera. The Dalek didn't kill her. Give me a moment to establish an audio link." Rebecca hit a few keys and then suddenly she could hear Rose as she argued with the Daleks. "You're on speaker you should be able to hear her now."

"Go on then, kill me." Rose said bitterly to the Dalek. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose."

"They're all dead because of you!"

"They are dead because of us." The Dalek told her and Rose was shaken into silence.

"And now what? What're you waiting for?"

"I feel your fear."

"What do you expect?!"

"Daleks do not fear. Must not fear." Rebecca watched in horror as the exterminator beam came on and the Dalek shot wildly but still missing Rose.

"ROSE!" The Doctor yelled from his side.

"She's okay! It missed her."

"You gave me life. What else have you given me? I am contaminated!" The Dalek cried. At that moment Adam stepped out of a lift and into Van Statten's office and the Doctor was on him.

"You were quick on your feet, leaving Rose behind."

"I'm not the one who sealed the vault!" Suddenly the visual link to the Dalek was reopened in the office and Rose was next to the Dalek on the screen. Despite Rebecca telling him that she was okay, he didn't believe that Rose was alright until he saw her.

"Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler dies."

"You're alive!" The Doctor said, relief flooding his voice.

"Can't get rid of me."

"I thought you were dead."

"I told you she was fine Doc and put you on Audio link. How did you still think she was dead?" Rebecca yelled.

"Shut it Rebecca!"

"Open the bulkhead!" The Dalek ordered.

"Don't do it!" Rose begged.

"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?" The Doctor was stunned, he turned to Van Statten and just shook his head.

"I killed her once. I can't do it again." He hit the enter key and the door opened for Rose and the Dalek.

"What do we do now? You bleeding heart, what the hell do we do?" Van Statten asked frantically.

"Van Statten, you're lucky I'm a few floors down because I would have slapped the crap out of you right now. Now SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" Rebecca yelled over the intercom. "Doc, you have a plan. Don't you?"

"Kill it when it gets here!"

"All the guns are useless, and the alien weapons are in the vault." Goddard told them.

"Only the catalogued ones." Adam told them. "Rebecca go to the closet key pass 7483 and look to see what we have."

"You got it." Rebecca told them scooting her wheely chair toward the closet and began sorting through all the uncataloged items. The Doctor was there a moment later.

"Anything yet Rebecca?"

"Not useful, I've found three broken pieces and a prop from Star Wars with the authentication certificate. Totally helpful when fighting Aliens." She said voice full of sarcasm. The Doctor then began sorting through things chucking things aside as he found them 

"Broken. Broken. Hairdryer."

"Mr. Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff, and when he does he wipes their memory. I kept this stuff in case I needed to fight my way out one day." Adam told her.

"What, you in a fight? I'd like to see that." The Doctor laughed. Rebecca laughed as well.

"I could do."

"What're you gonna do, throw your A-Levels at 'em?"

"I'll have you know I hacked into the U.S. Defense System."

"And if you're forced into hand to hand combat that's gonna help you how exactly?" Rebecca asked.

"I'd… uh.. umm…"he stuttered a bit.

"Exactly. Doc, what about this?" She asked holding up a weapon.

"Oh, yes. Lock and load." He said grabbing it from her hands. "We need to get back up to Van Stattens office. Rebecca keep me updated on their movement."

"You got it. I've got a trace on the Dalek." Adam sat down in front of the computer and started tapping keys.

"I'm sorry what do you think you're doing Adam?"

"I know this software better than you."

"Too bad. I'm not leaving Rose's life in your hands again. Now move." She pushed him aside and set up the trace on the Dalek and pulled up the live cam to watch the Doctor's movements.

In Van Statten's office Rose and the Dalek had arrived to meet Van Statten sitting there waiting for them.

"Don't move! Don't do anything, it's beginning to question itself" Rose told him.

"Van Statten. You tortured me. Why?" The Dalek asked.

"I wanted to help you, I just- I don't know, I - I was just trying to help. I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you- I wanted you better, I'm sorry." The Dalek advanced on him backing him towards a wall.

"I'm so sorry! I swear! I just wanted you to talk!"

"Then hear me talk now. Exterminate! Exterminate!" Rose ran over to him.

"Don't do it! Don't kill him!" The Dalek spun to face her and Rose stared right into it's eyepiece.

The Dalek spins to face her. Rose looks right into its eyepiece.

"You don't have to do this anymore. There must be something else. Not just killing- what else is there? What d'you want?"

"I want freedom."

"Doc, they're on level one. The power is back up take the lift." Rebecca told him over the comm system. The Doctor had reached the first floor when he heard the sound of the exterminator beam and he ran towards it.

"You're out. You made it." Rose told the Dalek. "Never thought I'd see the sunlight again."

"How... does... it... feel?" the Dalek asked. But before Rose could answer, the Dalek opened its armor to reveal the mutated creature inside, stretching out towards the sunlight. Rose stared in awe until the Doctor snapped her out of it making her jump.

"Get out of the way." The Doctor told her, pointing the gun at Dalek. Rose stared at him shocked, unmoving.

"Rose, get out of the way, now!"

"No! 'Cos I won't let you do this!"

"That thing killed hundreds of people."

"It's not the one pointing the gun at me." She said to him coldly.

"I've got to do this. I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left."

"Look at it." Rose said pointing to the Dalek who was basking in the sunlight.

"What's it doing?"

"It's the sunlight, that's all it wants!"

"But it can't..."

"It couldn't kill Van Statten - it couldn't kill me - it's changing. What about you, Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?" He lowered the gun looking incredibly lost.

"I couldn't...I wasn't... Oh Rose. They're all dead." He said close to tears.

"Why do we survive?" The Dalek asked.

"I don't know." The Doctor asked honestly wondering the thing himself.

"I am the last of the Daleks."

"You're not even that. Rose did more than regenerate you. You absorbed her DNA. You're mutating."

"Into what?"

"Something new. I'm sorry."

"Isn't that better?" Rose asked.

"Not for a Dalek."

"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness... Rose... give me orders! Order me to die." The Dalek closed its eyes ready to accept its fate. The Doctor looked at Rose who was shaking her head no.

"I can't do that."

 "This is not life. This is sickness. I shall not be like you. Order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!" Rose's face contorted and after a moment she took a deep breath.

"Do it." 

"Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?" The Dalek asked.

"Yeah."

"So am I. Exterminate." Rose ran back to the Doctor's side as the Dalek replaced its armor. It levitated in the air and the golden knobs from the exterior of its armor detached and surrounded the Dalek in a sphere. The Dalek glowed for a moment, exploding in the sphere before completely disappearing. Both the Doctor and Rose stared at where it had been.

The Doctor and Rose made their way back downstairs to Rebecca who was still in Adam's office, lazily playing the instrument they had looked at before.

"Rose! You're alright!" Rebecca cheered when the blonde entered the room.

"Can't get rid of me that easily!"

"That one would be a mess if we lost you." She said gesturing to the Doctor before giving her a hug. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Me too. Come on lets get back to the TARDIS." Rose told her pushing her rolling chair toward the lift to go back down to the TARDIS.

"Little piece of home. Better than nothing." The Doctor said, hand pressed against the TARDIS.

"Is that the end of it? The Time War?"

"I'm the only one left. I win. How about that." He said sadly.

"The Dalek survived... maybe some of your people did too." Rebecca proposed.

"I'd know. In here." The Doctor said pointing to his head. "Feels like there's no one there."

"Well then - good thing I'm not going anywhere." Rose said with a smile.

"Yeah." The Doctor smiled back at her.

"We'd better get out. Van Statten's disappeared... they're closing down the base." Adam said jogging up to them. "Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement! Like it never existed!"

"Good." Rebecca said.

"I'll have to go back home." Adam said sadly.

"Better hurry up then. Next flight to Heathrow leaves at 1500 hours." The Doctor told him.

"Doctor, Adam was saying that all his life he's wanted to see the stars..." Rose said hinting that they bring Adam aboard with them.

"Tell him to go and stand outside, then."

"He's all on his own, Doctor. And he did help."

"He left you down there!"

"So did you!"

"What're you talking about? We've got to leave!"

"Rose, he's a bit pretty." Rebecca smiled at that. The Doctor was obviously jealous.

"I hadn't noticed." Rose said innocently. He raised his eyebrows at her before opening the TARDIS for Rebecca who hobbled in.

"On your own head."

"What're you doing? She said 'cement'. She wasn't joking; we're going to get sealed in." The Doctor and Rose quickly walked into the TARDIS, leaving Adam alone outside

"Doctor? What're you doing standing inside a box? Rose? Rebecca?" he entered the TARDIS only to be stunned.

"Welcome aboard the TARDIS Adam." The Doctor said grumpily. "Rebecca, want me to carry you to the Medical bay to fix your ankle?" The TARDIS light's flashed and whatever the Doctor needed to fix Rebecca's sprained ankle appeared on the console.

"Thanks beautiful." Rebecca said patting the wall of the TARDIS, which then hummed appreciatively.

"How did you do that?" the Doctor asked.

"I asked nicely. She likes me."

"What the bloody hell is going on? It's bigger… on the inside" Adam asked utterly shell shocked by what was going on.

"Really? I couldn't tell." Rebecca said sarcastically. "The TARDIS or Time and Relative Dimension In Space is basically a time and space traveling ship. She is sentient so be nice to her." Rebecca warned.

"Yeah right a ship that has feelings." Adam scoffed leaning on one of the railings, when suddenly he was shocked.

"OW!"

"Told you so. Now Doc, fix me up. We can get Adam set up in a bedroom and take a bit of a rest before going off on an adventure."

"Yes, boss." The Doctor teased Rebecca going and fixing Rebecca's ankle.

"Thanks Doc. Alright Adam let's get you settled in. Come along." Rebecca hopped up and Rose and Adam followed her down a hallway.

"Oh is that your room Rose?" he asked pointing to a door with a Rose on it.

"No it's the queen of Sheba's," Rebecca said with a role of her eyes. "Here we go." Rebecca said opening a door to reveal a rather plain room. Very much like a hotel room. "The loo is attached. Check the drawers for clothes there will probably be something your size in there."

"Great. Um… do you have a kitchen or something? I'm starving."

"I'll take you." Rose offered.

"Great, thanks." He said following her off to the kitchen. As they passed through the console room, Rebecca watched the Doctors eyes flash with jealousy as Adam walked by with an arm around Rose.

"Green really isn't your color Doctor." Rebecca said plopping down on the jump seat.

"Rebecca I'm wearing gray are you color blind?" he asked as he started fiddling with the console again.

"No, but you're green with envy. You don't like the fact that Adam is flirting with Rose because you want her all to yourself."

"Don't be ridiculous." He said shooting her a look.

"You like her…" Rebecca teased.

"Obviously I like Rose. I enjoy her company very much. I like you too."

"Yeah… no. Different types of like. You like me like an annoying Little Sister or a best friend. You like Rose as a… hmmm… as future material to bare you time lord babies."

"Rebecca," he said giving her a warning look.

"Doctor, if a dalek could tell that you love Rose, why can't you accept it yourself?" He looked at her.

"Long story."

"I'll get us tea. Library in five minutes." She told him, heading off toward the kitchen to find Rebecca and Adam laughing together at the table.

"Don't mind me. Just getting some tea. You two want any?"

"We're good thanks Becks." Rose replied with a smile.

"Suit yourself." She then fashioned the two cups of tea and headed off towards the library.

"So doc, tell me why can't you accept the fact that you love Rose?"

"Back at home on Gallifrey, Time Lords weren't encouraged to have any form of contact with humans what so ever, they were seen as inferior."

"But you didn't follow that."

"Obviously not. But disregarding that fact, love in general wasn't really promoted either. All marriages were made for political and genetic reasons, to create the best race of time lords possible."

"So you feel like that by pursuing a relationship with Rose, you're disrespecting your people's traditions?" Rebecca asked him. He answered with a solemn nod.

"Not only that but… I'm a time lord Rebecca. We have this little trick of cheating death called regeneration. Will I die? Eventually, yes, but that could take thousands of years. I can't give her a normal human life. I would watch you two wither and die."

"Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" she asked sarcastically. "Listen Doc, being a teenage girl with absolutely zero romantic experience what so ever, I'm probably not gonna give you the worlds best advice. But isn't it better to have loved and have lost than to have never loved at all?"

"You don't know that." He said.

"No, but a lot of people have said it so there must be some truth to it." She pointed out.

"Whatever. Why am I even discussing this with you? It's not like Rose feels the same way!" Rebecca face palmed herself.

"You two are so thick!"

"What?"

"You need to work it out yourselves." She said shaking her head. She wasn't gonna get involved with this anymore…Well… she probably would but not presently. "By the way I gave Adam the speech."

"What speech would that be?"

"The "if you hurt her, I hurt you" speech. Also if I'm not able to hurt him I gave express rights for you to do it. If he even looks at her the wrong way or says something slightly offensive, we get to kick his ass."

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around Rebecca!" the Doctor said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah its not like I'm can cook and I'm sort of brilliant or anything."

"Very brilliant." He assured her.

"Oh, the TARDIS doesn't like him either. Maybe we can conspire against him together." She mused.

"What do you mean the TARDIS doesn't like him?"

"His room looks like a standard hotel room. My room when I came aboard was designed to suite my taste and Rose's room had a rose on the door and was decorated the way her dream room was in her mind."

"Doctor? Rebecca?" Rose asked timidly from the doorway.

"Come on in Rose!" Rebecca called out.

"Oh, Becks I was wondering if we could start on that erm…"

"I got the books we need. So whenever you want Rose."

"Now? Just a little bit of something to get me started."

"This has something to do with Adam doesn't it?" Rebecca asked her.

"I… I dunno what you're talking about." Rose said defensively. The Doctor looked on at the pair of girls confused.

"He's a braggart and he bragged about his scores to you and now you want to at least be able to compare." Rebecca said flatly. "Rose, you are so much better than he is. You can't compare the two of you just because you're both British."

"I want to do it for me and for my mum not because of stupid Bloke!" Rose argued back.

"Good! I think we should start with biology, it has the most material to cover."

"Alright I'm just gonna grab a cup of tea. Be back in a sec." Rose said quickly headed out to the kitchen.

"I'm not gonna even bother asking what that was about." The Doctor said giving Rebecca a look.

"Good, I wouldn't have explained anyway."

"I wanted to ask you about something that happened before."

"And that would be?"

"The song you played on the instrument back in Van Statten's office. What was it?"

"I don't know. It's the song that's always been inside my head since I was a kid. I even wrote lyrics for it. I call it 'always' but its probably some song I've just never been able to find. I used to sing myself to sleep every night after…" she trailed off memories flooding her mind. She quickly shook herself out of it and continued to ask "Why? Do you know that song?"

"After what Rebecca?" the Doctor asked.

"It's nothing… it was a long time ago. It doesn't matter."

"Everything matters."

"It's a story for another time. I'm fine now." Rose then popped in with her cup of tea, a pad of paper and a pen.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." 

"Alrighty then, biology is the study of living things and this course is broken down into four main or 'big' ideas." Rebecca said beginning to teach Rose about biology for her A-levels.


	10. The Long Game

The next morning the four had their cups of tea and a quick breakfast before the Doctor hit the randomizer button, sending the TARDIS careening out into space and to a new situation.

“Tell Rose where we are so she can impress Adam.” Rebecca whispered to the Doctor coming up behind him at the console. The Doctor gave her a nod and grabbed Rose and pulled her out of the TARDIS while Rebecca bothered Adam with some questions about A-levels

“So, it's 200 000, it's a spaceship... no wait a minute, space station, and uh... go and try that gate over there. Off you go!” the Doctor said.

“200 000?” Rose asked.

“200 000.”

“'Kay.” She smiled and giggled pulling the door of the TARDIS and pulling Adam out. “Adam? Out you come. “

“Oh my God.” Adam stepped out mouth open wide. In awe.

“Don't worry, you'll get used to it.” Rebecca told her clapping her hand on his shoulder.

“Where are we?” Adam asked.

“Good question. Let's see. So, um... judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year 200 000. If you listen... engines.” The Doctor watched her as she moved throughout the room, smiling.  “We're on some sort of space station. Yeah. Definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in here, they could turn the heating down... Tell you what - let's try that gate. Come on!” Rose ran ahead of three and opened the gate and walked into the next room, an observation deck.

 _“_ Here we go! And this is...” She, Rebecca and Adam stared out the window and looked at the Earth, awestruck by the sheer beauty. “...I'll let the Doctor describe it.”

“The fourth great and bountiful human empire. And there it is. Planet Earth at it's height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons - population 96 billion. The hub of a galactic domain, stretching across a million planets, a million species - with mankind right in the middle.” Adam fainted at that. The Doctor and Rose didn’t bother to look at Adam but Rebecca gave him a quick glance to make sure that he hadn’t cracked open his skull.

“He's your boyfriend.” The Doctor said to Rose.

“Not anymore.” She looked back at the Earth and didn’t detect the smile on the Doctor’s face at her statement. Rebecca did and smiled to herself before bending down and starting to lift up a groaning Adam.

“Come on. Get up you wimp.” She said pulling up to his feet.

“Come on, Adam. Open your mind. There’s a new world waiting out there for us through those gates” Rebecca said pointing to a second set of gates.

 “Rebecca’s right! You're gonna like this fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent - culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners—“ and then suddenly it was as if rush hour had begun and everyone was rushing around. Rebecca was the first to step into the fray and a man yelled at her.

“Out of the way!”

“Good manners doc?” she questioned.

 Food stalls were opening up and people were queuing up around  them and it looked like a mess of fast food, not the fine cuisine the Doctor was speaking of.

“Fine cuisine?” Rose questioned.

“My watch must be wrong.” He glanced at it. “No, it’s fine… weird.

“That's what comes of showing off. Your history's not as good as you thought it was.” Rose said.

“My history's perfect.”

“Well, obviously not...”

“Doc, you said time was constantly in flux right? Well could something have possibly happened in the past that’s hindering the progress of this fourth great bountiful human empire?”

“Maybe.” He mused.

“What I don’t get is why they're all human. What about the millions of planets? The millions of species? Where are they?” Adam asked.

“Good question. Actually, that ISa good question.  Adam, me' old mate, you must be starving.” The doctor slapped an arm around his shoulder and Adam shook a bit.

“No, I'm just a bit time sick.”

“Nah, you just need a bit of grub.  Oi, mate - how much is a cronk burger?” he called out to the chef at one of the stalls. 

“Two credits twenty, sweetheart. Now, join the queue.

“Money. We need money. We’ll have to use a cash point.” He held his sonic screwdriver to the cashpoint and two silver sticks fell out.

“Doc, is that legal?”

“Rebecca hush. Here you go-Pocket money. Don’t spend it all on sweets.” He said pulling Rebecca away with him toward some control panels on the wall by the hand.

“How does it work?” Adam asked. He asked pulling Rebecca back by the waist, his hand starting to dip a little low. Immediately her body stiffened up and she froze. The Doctor shot Adam a look and immediately his hand dropped. He made a mental note to ask Rebecca about it later.

“You’re smart! Figure it out!” Rebecca told him.

“Go and find out! Stop nagging me! The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. ...or is that just me? Stop asking questions, go on, do it!” Rose laughed at him as the Doctor shooed Adam away.

“Off you go then! Your first date.” The Doctor said to her.

“Don’t they grow up so fast?” Rebecca wiped a fake tear from her eyes, laughing.

“You're going to get a smack, you two are.” Rose said as she joined Adam  in the crowd.

“We should probably find out what’s going on here. I’m not digging the fact that we’re ninety years behind technologically. We should ask around.” Rebecca suggested.

“Watch and learn.” The Doctor said, going over to two women who were walking by “Erm... this is gonna sound daft, but can you tell me where I am?”

“Floor 139... could they write it any bigger?” the pretty dark skinned woman asked sarcastically. Rebecca bit back a laugh from where she was watching.

“Floor 139 of what?” the Doctor asked innocently.

“Must've been a hell of a party.” The woman shook her head at him.

“Oh, you're on Satellite Five.” The other woman told them. 

“What's Satellite Five?” he asked.

“Come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?”

“Look at me, I'm stupid.” The Doctor said pleasantly. Rebecca was about to intervene when the pale woman made an odd assumption.

“Hang on, wait a minute - are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?”

“You've got me. Well done. You're too clever for me.”

“I’ll say,” Rebecca said moving beside him. “This is why we practice, that was mediocre at best.” She teased him. “Sorry ladies, I’m training this fellow here.” She clapped her hand on his shoulder. “Show your credentials.” She warned. The Doctor glared at her, whipping out his psychic paper.

“We were warned about this in basic training. All workers have to be versed in company promotion. I’m Suki and that’s Cathica.”

“Right. Fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to Floor 500 I'll do anything. “ Cathica, the dark skinned woman said.

“Why, what happens on Floor 500?” The Doctor asked.

“The walls are made of gold. And you should know... Mr. Management. So... this is what we do.” Cathica answered as if it were obvious and then lead them towards a series of screens.

“Latest news... sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day... spacelane 37 closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Bo has just announced that his wife is pregnant.”

“I get it. You broadcast the news.” Rebecca said.

“We AREthe news. We're the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it. 600 channels all coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole human empire without it going through us” 

“All staff are reminded that the canteen area now has self cleaning tables. Thank you!” a voice said over the loud speaker. Rose placed a used napkin on the table and found Adam at another table sat beside him.

“Here,Try this. It's called 'zaffic', it's nice. It's like a - um - slush puppy.” She said handing him a foam cup.

“What flavour?”

“Um...” she took a sip. “Sort of, beef?”

“Oh, my God...” Rose laughed. “It’s like everything’s gone. Home-family-everything.” Rose looked at him concerned, and took her phone out of her pocket.

“This helps... the Doctor gave it a bit of a top-up. Who's back home, your mum and dad? “

“Yeah.” 

“Phone 'em up.” She suggested handing him the mobile.

“But that's one hundred and ninety- eight thousand years ago.”

“Honestly, try it. Go on!”

“Is there a code for planet Earth?” Rose laughed and shook her head

“No! Just dial!” The phone rang for a bit and it reached the answering machine much to Adam’s delight.

“Hi. It's... it's me. I've sort of gone... travelling. I met these people... and we've gone travelling together. But, um... I'm fine... and I'll call you later. Love you. Bye.” He hung up ridiculously happy. “That is just-“ he was interrupted by a loud alarm signaling everyone to head back to work.

“Oi! Mutt and Jeff! Over here!” the Doctor called to them. Rose ran towards him immediately forgetting that Adam had her phone. He pocketed it before joining them.

“So Satellite 5 is news broad casting, they’re the journalists who make the news apparently. They’re gonna show us how it’s done. They think that we’re management. Well I’m management and I’m training the Doctor.”

“Training the Doctor? Now that’s a laugh.” Rose smiled.

“Oh and Rose! Remember the Face of Boe from Platform One? He and his wife are having a baby!”

“That’s fantastic. I wonder what the baby’ll look like.” Rose pondered.

“Ladies, we have to go watch Cathica and Suki. Come on.” The Doctor said. Adam slung his arm over Rose’s shoulder and went to put the other on Rebecca who immediately quickened her pace and got beside the Doctor who once more gave her an odd look.

“Now. Everybody behave. We have a management inspection.  How do you want it? By the book?” Cathica asked the group.

“Oh, right from scratch.” The Doctor told her. Cathica looked at Rebecca for approval and she nodded at her a small smirk on her face.

“Okay so ladies, gentlemen, multisex, undecided or robot - my name is Cathica Santini Kadainy. That's Cathica with a 'C', in case you want to write to Floor 500 praising me, and please... do...

Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and be non-biased. That's company policy.” She smiled at the group who nodded at her.

“Actually... it's the law.” Suki pointed out innocently.

“Yes, thank you _,_ Suki. Okay, keep it calm... don't show off for the guests... here we go.” She laid down in a chair.  “And... engage safety..” everyone else laid their hands out over the pads, causing the walls around them to light up. Cathica clicked her fingers and a door in her forehead opened to reveal her brain. Rose looked alarmed at Rebecca who was trying to keep her cool, and not blow her cover to the fact that she wasn’t in fact management. However even the Doctor looked mildly disgusted. Adam still was trying to figure out what was happening.

“And 3... 2... and spike.” A blue light spiked down from above the chair flowing into her brain.

“Compressed information, streaming into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain ISthe computer.”

“If it all goes through her, she must be a genius.” Rose said.

“Nah. She wouldn't remember any. There's too much, her head would blow up.” The doctor began circling the platform, “The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets.”

“So, what about all these people round the edge?”

“They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her - and they transmit 600 channels. Every single fact in the empire beams out of this place.  Now, that's what I call power.”

Rose had walked over to Adam who was looking a bit green. “You alright?”

“I can see her brain.”

“Ten out of Ten for observation.” Rebecca said rolling her eyes.

“Ignore her. Do you want to get out?” Rose asked him

“No... no. This is technology, it's... it's amazing.”

“This technology's wrong.” The Doctor said.

“Knew it!”

“Trouble?”

“Oh yeah. “ The Doctor smiled at Rose who smiled right back. Suddenly Suki, who was sitting in the circle around Cathica, gasped and lifted her hands off the pad as if she received an electrical shock. The rest of the people around Cathica were then forced to lift their own hands. All the information running through Cathica stopped streaming and her brain door closes.

“Come off it, Suki, I wasn't even halfway, what was that for? “ Cathica complained.

“Sorry, must've been a glitch...”

“Promotion.” A voice said over the loud speaker.

“This is it. Come on. God, make it me. Come on, say my name. Say my name, say my name...” Rebecca, Rose, Adam and the Doctor all looked at her slightly concerned for her sanity.  
  
“Promotion for... Suki Macrae Cantrell.  Please proceed to Floor 500. “

“I don't believe it... Floor 500...”

“How the hell did you manage that? I'm above you!”

“You’re not gonna get any promotions acting like that Cathica.” Rebecca muttered under her breath.

“I don't know, I just applied on the off-chance... and they've said yes!” Suki said happily

“That's so not fair, I've been applying to Floor 500 for three years!”

“What's Floor 500?” Rose asked.

“The walls are made of gold.” Rebecca told her as they walked toward the lift to say Goodbye to Suki.

“Cathica, I'm gonna miss you! Floor 500...” Suki told Cathica despite the fact she was glaring at her. She then turned her attentions to the Doctor and Rebecca. “Thank you!”

“We didn't do anything!” Rebecca told her as she received a hug.

“Well, you two are my lucky charm!"

“All right! I'll hug anyone!” the Doctor told her giving her a hug. He glanced over at Rose and Adam who were sitting at a table nearby.

“Jealous?” Rebecca teased.

“No.” the Doctor said a little weakly. “Adam’s not fairing too well with this. Is he?”

“Come on, it's not that bad...” Rose told Adam who was still stuck on the Brain door bit.

“What, with the... the head thing?”

“Yeah, well she's closed it now!”

“Yeah but... it's everything. It freaks me out. And I just need to... if I could just... ...cool down. Sort of, acclimatize.”

“How d'you mean?”

“Maybe... I could just go and sit on the observation deck? Would that be all right? Soak it in, you know, pretend I'm a citizen of the year 200 000.” Rose nodded

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, no, you stick with the Doctor. You'd rather be with him.” There was an awkward pause because both of them knew it was true. “It's gonna take a better man than me to get between you two. Anyway - I'll be on the deck. “ As Adam got up, Rose fumbled around in her pocket looking for the TARDIS key

“Here you go... take the TARDIS key. You know, just in case it gets a bit too much. “

“Yeah, like it's not weird in there.”  Rose then quickly went over to join the Doctor and Rebecca who were still wishing Suki farewell.

 _“_ Oh, my God, I've got to go, I can't keep them waiting--I'm sorry! Say goodbye to Steve for me.  Bye!” The three of them waved goodbye to her while Cathica looked away sourly.

“Good riddance.” Cathica said bitterly.

“Now come off it Cathica. I’m sure Suki deserved her promotion.” Rebecca softly chided

“Besides, You're talking like you'll never see her again. She's only going upstairs.” The Doctor said.

“We won't. Once you go to Floor 500 you never come back.”

“Have you ever been up there?” the Doctor asked.

“Doc, if you never come back down when you go to floor 500 I highly doubt that Cathica has been there.” The Doctor shot her a glare but she just laughed at him

“No I haven’t. You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to 500 except for the chosen few.”

“Look, Cathica could you show us around a bit more?” Rose asked her

“Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance, can't you give it a rest? 

“But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?” the Doctor asked as he settled himself into a chair comfortably, Rose leaned on the back over him and he smiled looking up into her hazel eyes.

“Oi, Doc, Rose no flirting on work time.” She teased them. They immediately looked away from each other and blushed. Rebecca smiled at them shaking her head.

“I went to floor 16 when I first arrived, that's medical, that's when I got my head done, and then I - I came straight here. Satellite Five - you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all.”  Cathica finally had an epiphany. “You're not management, are you?”

“Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!” Rebecca said laughing. 

“At last! She's clever!”

“Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything.” Cathica said.

“Don't you even ask?”

“Well, why WOULDI?”

“You're a journalist! Why's all the crew human?”

“What's that got to do with anything?

“There's no aliens on board. Why?”

“I don't know - no real reason, they're not banned or anything.”

“Then where are they?” Rose asked.

“I suppose immigration's tightened up. It's had to, what, with all the threats.”

“What threats?” Rebecca asked concerned. “I didn’t hear any on the news before.”

“I don't know... all of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away... Oh, and the government on Traffic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see... just... lots of little reasons, that's all.”

“Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice.” The Doctor chided.

“Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything”. 

“I can see better. This society's the wrong shape. Even the technology”

“It's cutting edge!” Cathica argued

“It's backward! There's a great big door in your head! You should've chucked this out years ago.”

“So, what do you think is going on?” Rose asked.

“It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude. It's the way people think. The great and bountiful human empire's stunted. Something's holding it back.”

“And how would  _you_ know?” Cathica asked.

“Trust me. Humanity's been set back about 90 years - when did Satellite Five start broadcasting? 

“91 years ago...” and with that Rebecca face palmed herself.

“Doc, I say lets check out the main frame and get a schematic of this place up.”

“Perfect. Let’s go.”

“We're SOgonna get in trouble.” Cathica whined as the Doctor, scanned the side of the door with his sonic screwdriver, Rose watching over his shoulder. “You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off.”

“Rose, tell her to button it. “the Doctor said, continuing to hold the sonic the door.

“You can't just vandalize the place, someone's gonna notice!” Cathica urgently whispered. Rebecca rolled her eyes watching the people walk past them not even  giving them a second look. The Doctor finally wrenched open the door and started messing around with the main frame.

 _“_ This is nothing to do with me, I'm going back to work.” Cathica complained walking away.

“Bye.”  Rebecca waved .

“Go on then! See ya!” Cathica turned around and came back.

“I can't just leave you, can I?”

“If you wanna be useful, get 'em to turn the heating down. It's boiling. What's wrong with this place, can't they do something about it? “

“I don't know, we keep asking - something to do with the turbine. 

"Something to do with the turbine".  The Doctor mocked.

“Well, Idon't know!”

“You’re a journalist Cathica! You’re supposed to ask questions!”

“Exactly! I give up on you, Cathica. Now, Rose - look at Rose.” Rose turned around and faced the doctor, glowing with praise. “Rose is asking the right kind of questions.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Oh and Rebecca too.”  He then began fanning himself. “Why is it so hot?”

“It couldn’t be the fact that you’re wearing a leather jacket over a jumper could it doc?”

“What is it with you people?” Cathica asked exasperated. “One minutes you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating! _”_

“Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important.” He then accidently snapped a bunch of wires.

“Doc, step aside.” Rebecca said giving him a look. He handed her the sonic screwdriver and went to stand beside Rose. “Which setting for wire repair?”

“Forty nine B.” she changed the setting and fixed the wires that he had broken before hitting a few keys on the keypad  she found on the wall. A moment later, they were hacked into the main frame and Rebecca pulled up the pipes and plumbing of satellite five.

“Ta Dah. Here we are. Satellite Five- architectural plumbing schematic.”

“This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange... and you're looking at pipes?”

“We don’t need any of those other things. we need to know what’s going on in here. But there’s something wrong.” The Doctor took his place behind Rebecca and gave her a wary look. “None of this makes sense.”

“I suppose...” Cathica mused.

“You suppose?” Rebecca scoffed. “The evidence is right in front of your face and you still don’t question anything.”

“Why, what is it?” Rose asked.

“The ventilation system. Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out... channeling massive amounts of heat down.” Cathica told her. Rose shot a look towards the ceiling.

“It’s coming all the way from the top.” The Doctor explained.

“Floor 500.”

“Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat.” Rebecca

“Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party. It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?” Rose asked heading toward the lift on the wall.

“You can't, you need a key.” Cathica warned.

“Keys are just codes, and we’ve got the codes right here. Haven’t we Rebecca?” she grinned at him and hitting a few keys, brought up the code they needed.

“Here we go - override 215.9.”

“Fantastic!” he grinned.

“How come it's giving  _you_ the code?” Cathica asked jealously.

“Someone up there likes me.” The Doctor said confidently.

“Or you know… We actually tried to find it instead of blindly accepting things as they were.”  Suddenly the lift door’s opened while Rebecca was checking out the thermodynamics.

“Come on, come with us!” Rose told Cathica as she and the Doctor stepped into the lift.

“No way!”

“Bye!” the Doctor waved.

“Well, don't mention my name. When you get in trouble, just don't involve me!” She stalked off  back toward the central corridor and Rebecca rolled her eyes.  The lift door closed while Rebecca was still at the panel.

“REBECCA CATCH THE NEXT LIFT!” The Doctor yelled at her from inside the elevator as it moved up.

“GOT IT!” she called back.

“That's her gone. Adam's given up. Looks like it's just you and me for now.” The Doctor said looking at Rose

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

“Yep.” They smiled at each other and the Doctor grabbed her hand. The lift reached Floor 500 and it became very apparent that the room was not  what they had expected. Instead of glittering golden walls, it was a cold dark control room. Skeletons littered the floor, all over the room.

“The walls are not made of gold. You should go back downstairs.”

“Tough.” She strode onward through a corridor on her right and the Doctor grinned following her. They entered what seemed like a control room, only to find a platinum blonde man standing in the middle, watching the screens covering the walls.

“I started without you. This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but YOUtwo... you don't exist! Neither does your little American friend either. Not a trace! No birth - no job - not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?” Rose ignored the man, spotting Suki over at one of the screens frozen in place.

“Suki! Suki!” she knelt down beside her but there was no response.  “Hello? Can you hear me? Suki? What've you done to her?”

“I think she's dead.” The Doctor told Rose regretfully.

“But she's working...”

“They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going. Like puppets.”

“Ohhhh! You're full of information! But it's only fair we get information back, because apparently, you're no-one.” The Platinum blonde man said.

“It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?”

“It doesn't matter, 'cause we're off. Nice to meet you. Rose, come on.” The Doctor however was restrained by two drones and Suki’s corpse suddenly animated and grabbed Rose

“Tell me who you are!” the man ordered.

“Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly gonna say, am I?”

“Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise.” The man gave them a menacing grin.

“And who's that?” the Doctor asked.

“It may interest you to know that this is NOTthe Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live.” A harsh, angry roar came from above and the man winced. “Yeah-- sorry. It's a place where humans are  _allowed_ to live by kind permission of my client.” He snapped his fingers and pointed up towards the ceiling. Both Rose and the Doctor looked up to see a huge white, slobbery lump like alien with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that it kept snapping at them.

“Doctor, what is that?” Rose asked nervously staring at the creature above them, stepping back to avoid the drool pouring from its mouth.

“You mean, that _thing's_ in charge of Satellite Five?” the Doctor asked disgusted.

“That 'thing' - as you put it - is in charge of the human race. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news. Edited by my superior - your master - and humanities guiding light - the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe.” The Jagrafess roared at them in response.

“I call him Max.”

Back on Floor 139, Rebecca was about to get in the lift when Cathica returned to the hall.

“Are you in or not?” Rebecca asked. Cathica gave her an uneasy look but nodded joining her in the lift.

“If we create a climate of fear... then it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy... invent an enemy... change a vote...” the man, who called himself the Editor, continued as he put Rose and the Doctor in manacles.

“So, all the people on Earth are like, slaves.” Rose queried.

“Well, now. There's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?” the Editor asked.

“Yes.” The Doctor spat out disgusted.

“Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get? 'Yes'? 

  
“Yes.” The Editor laughed at him.

“You're no fun.”

“Let me out of these manacles - you'll find out how much fun I am.” The Doctor said roughly, struggling against the manacles.

“Oh, he's tough, isn't he?” the Editor asked, running a hand over her cheek. She flinched back. ”But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit.”

“You can't hide something on this scale. Somebody must've noticed.” Rose pointed out.

“From time to time, someone, yes. But the computer system allows me to see inside their brain... I can see the smallest doubt - and crush it. And then they just carry on, living their life. Strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're SO individual.” Rebecca and Cathica had made it to floor 500 and were horrified by the skeletons they saw.

“OH MY-“ Rebecca clamped a hand over Cathica’s mouth.

“SHHH!” she pressed a finger to her lips for emphasis and then quietly stalked off towards where she heard voices. She hit behind a wall and then peeked her head out slightly the Doctor just noticing her.

“When of course, they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing.” The Editor continued.

“What about you? You're not a Jagra... uh... a...”

“Jagrafess.” The Doctor offered.

“Right, jagrafess. You're not a Jagrafess. You're human.”

“Yeah, well simply being human doesn't pay very well.”

“But you couldn't have done this all on your own.”

“No! I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to um... install himself.”

“No wonder, a creature that size.” The Doctor looked up and Rebecca followed his gaze, to see the Jagrafess, as big and ugly as ever. How was she supposed to stop that.  “What's his life span?”

“Three thousand years.”

“That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs - Jagrafess stays cool - stays alive. Satellite Five's one great big life support system.” _Explains the heating problems._

“But THAT'Swhy you're so dangerous. Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown.” He laughed and snapped his fingers, sending an electrical shock through the manacles that bound Rose and the Doctor. “Now tell me who are you?

The Doctor grimaced in pain. “Leave her alone. I’m the Doctor, she’s Rose Tyler, we’re nothing. We’re just wandering.”

“Tell me who you are!”

“I just said!” 

“Yeah, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly—“ suddenly he stopped and shuddered for a moment before smiling at the Doctor. “Time Lord.”

“What?”

“Oh, yes! The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine. Oh, with his little human girl from long ago...” he touched Rose’s face gently and she jerked her head away.

“You don't know what you're talking about.”

“Time travel.”

“Someone's been telling you lies.” The Doctor claimed.

“Young master Adam Mitchell?” He snapped his fingers once more, and a projection of Adam in one of the control room seats, writhing and shouting in pain as the compressed information still flowed into his head appeared before them.

“Oh, my God - his head!” Rose called out.

“What the hell's he done? What the hell's he gone and done? They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything!”

“And through him, I know everything about you. Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S - TARDIS. ”

“You'll never get your hands on it. I'll die first.” The Doctor spat at him

“Die all you like. I don't need you. I've got the key.” Suddenly a key materialized in front the Editors face, coming from Adam’s pocket. He grabbed it and smiled. The Doctor turned to Rose.

 “You and your boyfriends!”

“Today, WEare the headlines. We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing.”

“And no-one's gonna stop you. Because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're tol.d it's made of gold.” Of course he was directing Cathica who was standing behind Rebecca. Rebecca gave him a slight nod and rushed back to where they had entered.

“Broadcasting room. There must be a way to override what Adam is sharing. Cathica.” Rebecca told her as she pulled a corpse off of the chair. “Remember what I showed you about the heating. Think about that we need to reverse the cooling so it floods downwards. Got it?” Cathica nodded.

“Disengage safety.” Cathica said sitting herself down in the chair. The walls around her began to light up.

“Maximum Access. Overide Floor 139.” She snapped her fingers.

“And... spike!” The information began to flow through her and stopped flowing through Adam.

“Someone's disengaged the safety.” The Editor said. He snapped his fingers and the projection showed him Cathica, with the information flowing into her brain.

“Who's that?!”

“It's Cathica!”

“And she's thinking. She's using what she knows!”

“Terminate her access.” The Editor barked at Suki.

“Everything Rebecca and I told her about Satellite Five - the pipes - the filters - she's reversing it! Look at that...” He gestured with his head towards the melting icicles on the walls. “It’s getting hot.”

“I said, terminate!” the Editor yelled, placing his hands over Suki’s. “Burn her mind.”

“Oh no you don't. You should've promoted me yearsback.” Cathica yelled from the broadcasting room. Rebecca ran back to where the Doctor and Rose were. All the screens were exploding with sparks, and the Drone’s in the room fell lifeless to the ground around them. The station shuddered as alarms began to go off.

“Doc, which pocket for the screwdriver?” Rebecca barked.

“Right.” He said.

“Doctor, what exactly is happening?”

“Cathica, She's venting the heat up here. The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano.” As he said that the Jagrafess began to roar violently to which the Doctor responded with a laugh.

“Schadenfreude isn’t becoming Doctor.” Rebecca told him, as she continued to dig around in his pockets. Finally finding the sonic screwdriver, she went to free Rose from the manacles when the Jagrafess roared angrily and began snapping at them.

Rebecca quickly put the sonic screwdriver to Rose’s manacles and released her, proceeding with the Doctor’s set. He was finally freed as lumps of the Jagrafess’ flesh began to fall off. __  
  
“Oi, mate - wanna bank on a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body. Massive bang! See you in the headlines!” he called out to the Editor. He grabbed Rose’s hand and began to run. Rebecca glanced toward the Jagrafess for a quick moment just to notice it glowing red and pulsating horribly.  The Editor had started talking to the Jagrafess once more but Rebecca had chosen to ignore him in an effort to save her own life. She, Rose and the Doctor were now narrowly dodging pieces of the Jagrafess’ flesh. She entered the broadcasting room, watching all the information still flowing through Cathica’s head and she snapped her fingers to and watched it close.

“You alright?” she asked everyone. She received a steady stream of nods from everyone as they headed back down into the much cooler lift.

“Fantastic. Cathica, We're just gonna go. I hate tidying up. Too many questions. You'll manage.” The Doctor told her as he sat down at a table near the canteen area on floor 139. 

“You'll have to stay and explain it - no-one's gonna believe me.” 

“Oh, they might start believing a lot of things now. The Human Race should accelerate. All back to normal.”

Cathica was the first to notice Adam loitering nearby. _“_ What about your friend?”

“He's not my friend.” The Doctor said menacingly getting up and marching over towards Adam.

“Now, don't—“ Rose protested but she was ignored.

“Rose we’re leaving come on. He’s not gonna hurt him… too badly.” Rebecca Amended.

“I'm all right now. Much better. I've got the key. Well, it's... I know... It all worked out for the best, didn't it?” Rebecca took the key out of Adam’s hand and unlocked the TARDIS Door.

“You know, it's not actually my fault, because YOUwere in charge—“ The Doctor shoved him inside the TARDIS, Rose following shutting the door behind them. The Doctor then headed over to the console and plugged in some coordinates.

“Adam shut up! Man up and take responsibility for your actions.” Rebecca said.

“But you left me there by my-“ he grabbed Rebecca’s arm and instead of freezing like she had before she slapped him hard across the face.

“Good one Rebecca.” The Doctor cheered.

“Don’t. Touch. Me. Ever. Again.” Adam backed up against one of the railings and suddenly they landed jerkily. The Doctor grabbed him by his jumper and steered him out of the TARDIS and into a living room.

“It's my house! I'm home! Oh, my God, I'm home!” Adam said relieved.  “Blimey. I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock.”

“I was outvoted.” Rebecca muttered darkly. “Rose vetoed the idea.”

“Is there something else you want to tell me?” the Doctor asked. Adam began to shift around uncomfortably.

“No. Um... what do you mean?” The Doctor walked over to the telephone and picked it up.

“The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world. “ The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and blew up the telephone.

“That's it, then. See ya.” The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS doors.

“How do you mean, 'see ya'?”

“As in 'goodbye'.” Rebecca said flatly. 

“But... what about me? You can't just go, I've got my head - I've got a chip type two, my head opens.”

“What, like this?” The Doctor snapped his fingers and Adam’s head opened.

“Don't do-“ Adam protested angrily as the Doctor snapped it shut.

“Don't do what?” He snapped his fingers again.

“Stop it!” Rebecca started humming the Adamms family theme song.

“Duh duh duh duh” she snapped and continued laughing at Adam’s discomfort. The Doctor even joined in for a moment.

“All right now, Doctor, that's enough. Stop it.” Rose told them and they listed backing down.

“Thank you.” Adam said and then Rose snapped her own fingers.

“Oi!”

“Sorry, I couldn't resist.” 

“The whole of history could've changed because of you.” The Doctor told Adam seriously.

“I just wanted to help.”

“You were helping yourself.” Rebecca corrected.

“And - I'm sorry. I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am - but you can't just leave me like this.”

“Yes I can. 'Cos if you show your head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds. You'll have to live a very quiet life. Keep out of trouble. Be average. Unseen. Good luck.” The Doctor told him.

“Also don’t go to Poetry readings. All the snapping.. you know.” She said snapping her fingers again several times in a row. She laughed before heading back in the TARDIS.

“But I wanna come with you!”

 “I only take the best. I've got Rose and Rebecca.” The Doctor told him shutting the doors behind him. He set the TARDIS to dematerialize and they were off in the vortex.

 “Well… that was eventful.” Rose mused.

 “No more strays on the TARDIS. Got it?” the Doctor told her.

 “Yes, Doctor. Rebecca, I’m gonna grab my books wanna do some maths today?”

“Sure math is fine. I’ll meet you in the library in a minute. I’m just gonna grab a snack and some tea, want anything?”

“Tea and biscuits please!” Rose said with a smile as she skipped off toward the library, the Doctor watching her every move. Rebecca had begun her journey to the galley when the Doctor grabbed her arm and she tensed.

“I wanted to talk to you about that. Whenever Adam touched you, you tensed up like you just did now.” The Doctor told her.

“It’s nothing.” She brushed it off.

“It has to do with the lullaby doesn’t it? Why you had to sing yourself to sleep every night?” he questioned.

“It’s in the past Doctor. I don’t want to talk about it.” She continued toward the galley and he followed her.

“Rebecca you have been completely fearless in our journeys but the moment that Adam grabbed you, you froze. You’ve never frozen before. What happened to you?” he repeated. She snapped and turned around to face him.

“I don’t like being touched okay? I was assaulted on my way home from school when I was 12 and they mugged me and left me for dead on the street. So forgive me if I don’t like it when people grab me. I can go ahead and touch people on my own, initiating contact I have no problem. I can hug you no problem because I trust you. But I never trusted Adam so him touching me against my will was not alright.”

“Rebecca…”

“Is that what you wanted to hear? That despite being emotionally abused by my parents into thinking I was worthless, I was physically assaulted on top of that and I’m even more screwed up?” She asked angrily.

“There’s my story Doc. Maybe one day you can tell me yours.” She turned away again and grabbed the tea and biscuits the TARDIS had provided her and joined Rose in the library to study for her A-levels.

“You’re doing great Rose!” she told her as she graded one of her practice exams. “B. See how far you’ve come!”

“Going for A’s though.” Rose muttered.

“Well we still have time. We haven’t even registered you yet. But really you’re doing great!” Rebecca said giving her a hug.

“Thanks! I’m headed to bed. Still trying to wrap my head around everything that happened.” Rebecca nodded.

“Night.” She cleared up the books and then decided she was in the mood for some history. She headed over to the history section and had decided upon “The History of the Ptolemaic Dynasty,” when she noticed a larger book a few books over. “The History of the Time War.” Her jaw dropped it couldn’t be the same war the Doctor had lost his people in. Could it be?

She grabbed the book about the Time War instead and plopped down in an armchair and began to read the accounts of the Time War.

 


End file.
